Astrodome turning away buses

[MoniqueU]

Apparently they are all filled up now and are telling the newly arrived busses from New Orleans to go somewhere else. Where I don't know. This is reported on CNN. Give me a friggin break.

 

[laurie31]

I heard they were being rerouted to Dallas.

It's horrible to think of the survivors being shuffled around but if they fill the Astrodome beyond capacity then the conditions that existed in the Superdome will resurface. It would be cruel to put those people again into a situation where adequate sanitation facilities are not available

Hopefully they can all find safe comfortable shelters soon. Many people have offered to share their homes with victims. Hopefully after they are settled they could be matched up.

It's a terrible situation

Laurie

 

[aprilgail2]

They said from the beginning that they would only accept 25,000 people there....all those kids will be enrolling in the local schools, you can only take so many of them in!

 

[slmjam]

I live in Houston and heard last night the Dome was full. Additional evacuees arriving after that point were being re-routed to San Antonio (Kelly Air Force Base) and Dallas (not sure what venue was being used there - maybe Reunion arena).

 

[bettyann29]

Just heard that there is about 12000 people in the Astrodome and they halted bringing others in due to safety..Not sure what they mean by that.. They are talking about Reunion Arena.. I know there are already people there because we recvd an email yesterday at work asking for clothes of any size to donate to the people at RA.. There are other Red Cross Shelters apparently here in DFW.. I hope they find places for everyone..

 

[Boston Tea Party]

From Houston's ABC station:

By The Associated Press
(9/2/05 - HOUSTON) — After accepting more than 11,000 Hurricane Katrina refugees, officials said the Astrodome was full and at least temporarily halted the flow of evacuees into the shelter Thursday night.


"We've actually reached capacity for the safety and comfort of the people inside there," American Red Cross spokeswoman Dana Allen said shortly before midnight. She said people were "packed pretty tight" on the floor of the Astrodome.


Instead of sending arriving buses away to other shelters, however, officials decided early Friday to process the refugees there and begin housing people in the adjacent Reliant Center, where the Houston Texans play football, said Houston press secretary Patrick Trahan.

It wasn't immediately clear if others would be housed at the Astrodome.

At least 20 buses were lined up in three different directions outside the Astrodome early Friday. Dozens of frustrated and angry people milled about outside. Some were handed bottles of cold water, their first in days.

"When we got here they said they had no place to put us because they're full. A man gave us this cold water, the first we've had since Sunday," said Patricia Profit, who stood outside one of the buses. "Before we left New Orleans they said everybody will be in the Astrodome. Don't panic, don't worry, you'll still be with your family. That's what they told us. Now we can't be with our family."

She said some of her relatives were inside the Astrodome.

"I understand people from Mississippi got here before we got here. Now we can't even get off the bus at all. This is ridiculous," said New Orleans resident Irving Gray.

"We're asking that people be patient. Ultimately they are going to be comfortable," Allen said.

Houston Police Sgt. Nathan McDuell said the city's fire marshal initially decided the Astrodome had "reached full capacity and we needed to shut it off for all concerned."

"It would be unfortunate if we were to bring these individuals from a desperate situation and create another desperate situation here," McDuell said.

He later said the situation had been reassessed and more people could be processed.

"It's a very fluid situation and we have to deal with the situations as they arrive," McDuell said. "Our main goal and main interest is to make sure everybody is safe."

The total of 11,375 inside the Astrodome when the initial decision on capacity was made was less than half the estimated 23,000 people who were expected to arrive by bus from New Orleans in Houston.

Those refugees who arrived earlier, weary from days in the sweltering, miserable conditions at the Superdome, were happy to get a shower, a hot meal and a cool place to sleep.

Thirty deputies working on overtime provided security and searched refugees for weapons. A few people were arrested, although Sheriff Tommy Thomas didn't have an exact count. He said some men were arrested for going into the female showers. Others were arrested for fighting over cots.

"These bunks are going to be territorial. Somebody gets up and then somebody's going to take their bunk," Thomas said.

Police officers also have confiscated 30 guns, most of which have been voluntarily surrendered, McDuell said.

Doctors and nurses set up a clinic to help people with high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems. Ambulances waited in the parking lots for those needing hospital care, said Dr. Herminia Polacio, a Harris County public health official.

"Many of them have been in situations in the Superdome where they have been under quite a bit of duress, such as several days without medication," she said.

Organizers spent the past two days setting up cots that covered the Astrodome's cement floor, which previously was its football field. They provided phones and a message board so refugees could contact loved ones, and gathered supplies such as bottled water, soap, toothbrushes and diapers.

Outside the Astrodome, trucks delivered sandwiches and paramedics assessed new arrivals for health problems under tents in a makeshift triage center.

Evacuees, most who hadn't bathed since the hurricane hit Monday, showered in one of four locker rooms once used by the Houston Astros and the Houston Oilers. The Houston Texans, the city's new football team, and the Houston Astros now play in new stadiums, one within walking distance of the aging Astrodome.

Audree Lee, 37, felt relief after getting a shower and hearing her teenage daughter's voice on the telephone for the first time since the storm. Lee had relatives take her daughter to Alabama so she would be safe.

"I just cried. She cried. We cried together," Lee said. "She asked me about her dog. They wouldn't let me take her dog with me. ... I know the dog is gone now."

As she was offered chips and an apple, Lee said the conditions Houston are far better than they were in New Orleans, but she can't wait to get back to her home state.

"I've never been through anything like this," she said. "We have nothing to go home to. I just want to be safe and comfortable."

Volunteer Daniel Rittgers said many of the refugees remain in shock.

"They are still in the moment of survival," he said. "They have been displaced."

Harris County Fire Marshal Mike Montgomery said shelter organizers will do all they can to help the refugees as they try to sort out what to do now that they've lost everything.

"We're trying to establish some sense of normalcy," Montgomery said. "Our main concern is getting those people where they are comfortable. They are in a dry location. They are in a safe location, and we are attending to their needs."

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

"I understand people from Mississippi got here before we got here. Now we can't even get off the bus at all. This is ridiculous," said New Orleans resident Irving Gray.

WHAT?!?!??!?!? I thought that space was promised to the Superdome and only Superdome refugees could come there!

 

[CarolA]

WHAT?!?!??!?!? I thought that space was promised to the Superdome and only Superdome refugees could come there!

A... this has not been confirmed

B... keep in mind that there are people in MS still trapped without water/supplies etc... while here on the board we are focused on NO the situtation is pretty dire everywere. Is it going to be any better if we now have MS residents on the interstate looking for a home???

C... DOES ANYONE IN NO HAVE A CLUE?????

First they said there were 10,000 people in the Superdome then 20,000 at one point I heard 40,000 No wonder they can't figure out where to put them, they can't figure out how many they have.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Our news reported last night that Dallas is taking 25,000 people. Some at Reunion Arena, and then I guess they were thinking of the Dallas Convention Center when Reunion is full.

I have already gotten about 6 e-mails asking for donations. There are already kids enrolling in DS's school. The scary thing is I don't think there is any city in the nation that can effectively absorb 25,000 people. They can't live in a stadium forever! The resources in this city were already struggling, and now they will be overwhelmed. Obviously it is better here than it was in LA, so maybe that will be enough for the time being. I can't even begin to imagine how they are going to coordinate everything these people need. I imagine the assistance will be largely federal, because local agencies couldn't possibly begin to get these folks sorted out.

The problems with getting people situated are just staggering. If they had jobs before then they might be able to find similar jobs here, but I am sure nobody grabbed a copy of their resume on the way out the door! I am willing to bet there are plenty of people who have no ID. The kids have no birth certifcates, no immunization records, etc. How do you go about proving who you are if you have NOTHING? All those documents are gone! It is hard to wrap my brain around the whole scope of this disaster.

 

[laurie31]

The problems with getting people situated are just staggering. If they had jobs before then they might be able to find similar jobs here, but I am sure nobody grabbed a copy of their resume on the way out the door! I am willing to bet there are plenty of people who have no ID. The kids have no birth certifcates, no immunization records, etc. How do you go about proving who you are if you have NOTHING? All those documents are gone! It is hard to wrap my brain around the whole scope of this disaster.

It is mind boggling, when you start thinking about all the details.

Schools here have waived enrollment requirements for refugees. They have a certain peroid of time to get new immunization records (not sure if that means getting reimmunized or what) but they will not have to provide birth certificates, proof of identity or proof of residence.

How will they go about getting jobs without cars? How can they afford a car without a job? I can't imagine what those poor people are going through, having to start over with totally nothing. Even people in other disasters who lost everything still had a city to live in. This is beyond comprehension

Laurie

 

[aprilgail2]

I have already gotten about 6 e-mails asking for donations. There are already kids enrolling in DS's school. The scary thing is I don't think there is any city in the nation that can effectively absorb 25,000 people. They can't live in a stadium forever! The resources in this city were already struggling, and now they will be overwhelmed. . I imagine the assistance will be largely federal, because local agencies couldn't possibly begin to get these folks sorted out.

I don't htink our school system could absorb even 40 more children into it even spreading them out among 3 schools...and the cost to whatever school is goig to take them in, its not like people moving into the town adn paying into the school systme with property tax...its goign to effect the poor displaced people and the people who have kids in the districts they are goign into.

 

[brerrabbit]

Please don't bash Houston, we're doing all we can. We have no less than two dozen collection centers set up to collect food, cloths, water and personal items. Dozens and dozens of churchs in the area are setting up space for refugees and they are not even talking about those. The Mayor of Houston has said he will open up the George R. Brown convention center and Harris County is opening up Reliant Center which is the Convention Center beside the Astrodome and Reliant Field where the Texans play. On my way home today I passed three furniture stores that are collecting goods and donating beds to the effort. I am proud of my hometown because we are opening our hearts and our homes to the devasted people of Louisiana. We don't ask where are you from, Superdome? Mississippi? Alabama? We just see people in need and are helping all we can. Look at the uplifting side of what is happening not the negative. I work for a large Energy Company and we have been manning phone banks since Tueday to take donations and are sendind company volenteers to the Astrodome for six hour shifts. We are truly doing whatever we can to aid our neighbors to the east.

 

[disneymom3]

I don't htink our school system could absorb even 40 more children into it even spreading them out among 3 schools...and the cost to whatever school is goig to take them in, its not like people moving into the town adn paying into the school systme with property tax...its goign to effect the poor displaced people and the people who have kids in the districts they are goign into.

The guy they interviewed on the news last night who I am pretty sure was the mayor of San Antonio said that eventually the city would be reimbursed by FEMA for the schooling etc of these people.

I am wondering why they couldn't set up classes in some of the shelters. Surely, there are a bunch of displaced teachers from LA too.

I think the idea of housing people in some of the closed down military complexes needs to be looked as a possibility. They have bunkers, they have facilities for medical issues and they have places to cook for and feed several thousand people at once.

At least they are out of NO. THAT alone has to be a huge improvement.

Anyone else find it odd that they didn't give these people water on the buses?