Astrodome at capacity, but buses with evacuees keep coming (Houston 22,000) (D.C. 400)

Houston Chronicle ^ | September 2, 2005 | SALATHEIA BRYANT, BILL MURPHY and LEIGH HOPPER

[Cincinatus' Wife]

22,000 have been processed in Houston and thousands more are going to San Antonio and Dallas. God bless Texas!

They just reported on D.C. radio that the mayor is offering room in the Armoy for 400 people. WOW! He said he didn't want to put them into a worse situtation, so was going to start slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

[NCC-1701]

Are there any pics showing the interior of the Superdome after the evacuation?

[texianyankee]

I just received this "thread" concerning the situation in the Astrodome....quite a mess from a first hand account.... AstrodomeUpdate

[Restorer]

The first thing is to collect the entire stock of every Goodwill and Salvation Army store in town and truck it over to the Astrodome.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Yes, God bless Texas.

[Nathan Zachary]

Now, if NO had a take charge mayor like this, there wouldn't be near the problems.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

These people are going to be wards of the state of Texas for years and years and years to come.

[SF Republican]

``We want this exhibition hall open right now," the mayor said. "If it entails someone suing us, then OK.," the mayor said. - TEXANS I love 'em

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I don't think so.

[Aggie Mama]

I live in Houston, and I can tell you just about every church is setting up room for the evacuees, doing clothing, diaper, gift card drives, and doing whatever they can to help. It is amazing to see and be a part of. My son's small private school took on 25 students.

[meandog]

somebody:
There are plently of U.S. Navy ships in mothballs here in Va., and around the country...why can't they be used?

[evets]

Houston Mayor Bill White has authorized opening Reliant Center to as many as 11,000 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. He said he also has authorized the opening of the George R. Brown Convention Center, if needed.
Don't panic!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

My daughter and a neighbor just got back from taking things to the Astrodome.

They couldn't even make it to the sorting boxes. People were asking for baby things - which they had - deoderant, pads, toothpaste and brushes - just everything is so appreciated.

[LOC1]

Houston is doing it's part and good for them. What are New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, and all of the other great cities in the nation doing? There are sports stadiums all over the country, not just in Houston. Buses, trains and planes can get to those cities, too. This is a country wide problem. It is time for the great cities to step up to the plate, not just talk about someone else's less than perfect response.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I know Houstonians and I love 'em.

[cfo]

2 excellent Christian relief organizations:

Southern Baptist's NAMB: http://www.namb.net/

Samaritan's Purse: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

[green iguana]

That's not a first hand account and I don't buy it for a second.

[Trust but Verify]

That Mayor may be right. Other than being able to get out of the heat, I don't see how over-stuffing the Astrodome is going to be that much better than stuffing the Superdome.

They should be breaking these groups up into more manageable numbers so they can all be treated with respect and dignity. That will also make it much easier for officials to quickly identify troublemakers and deal with them.

[Sleeping Freeper]

From the link: "my wife's law school professor was late to class this morning and when she came in she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt....kids were thinking, "what's going on".

The prof had spent the night down at the Astrodome helping out. She said that the media is sugar coating the situation. NO ONE has eaten in three days, diabetics are starting to have problems because they can't have their blood sugar where it needs to be, and men are forming gangs inside the Astrodome and are hanging out in all the dark corners and back rooms and are grabbing women and children and raping them. Drug attics are going through withdrawls. The police presense that was shown on TV outside the Astrodome is not the same as inside where there is very little to none. She said that within 2 more days things will be as bad if not worse than they were in the Superdome."

If it is really this bad, I hope they get on top of this quickly.

I have contacts all over the south in Birmingham, Huntsville, Atlanta, Memphis and Tallahassee. All are accommodating the refugees in a large way. Birmingham has opened its Civic Center for the homeless.

[MineralMan]

"These people are going to be wards of the state of Texas for years and years and years to come."

Some may. Most will not. Fortunately, the good citizens of Texas are rising to the occasion and organizing drives to supply needed items to these people who were caught in the hurricane.

I wonder what you are doing, other than posting doom and gloom messages on FR.....