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Sep 15, 2008 1:45 pm US/Central
37,000 Ike Evacuees Still Looking For Shelter
The Red Cross says it has space available at North Texas shelters. To find the nearest shelter, evacuees can call 214-653-7629.
FORT WORTH (AP/CBS 11 NEWS) ―
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Samantha Aguilar, 6, (front left) holds the arm of Erick Castaneda, 7, as a registration armband is attached by Red Cross volunteer Michelle Tauzin (hands at far left). From back left, Francisco Castaneda, Jonathan Castaneda and Juan Carlos, holding Zimena
Pool photo by Melanie Burford/The Dallas Morning News
State officials said Monday there are still at least 37,000 evacuees seeking temporary shelter more than two days after Hurricane Ike roared into Texas.
But as some caregivers begin to see evacuees leaving their safe havens, Gov. Rick Perry is warning residents not to return to the devastation in the hard-hit areas of southeast Texas. He said first responders and emergency workers are too busy to deal with returning evacuees.
"Do not come back into the impacted area until the officials ... have given that all-clear," Perry said at a news conference in Orange. "Stay where you are."
Steve McCraw, the state homeland security director, said there were at least 284 mass shelters in Texas. He said there were more than 37,000 evacuees but noted that number "fluctuates from day to day."
"A very major operational priority is taking care of them, including moving water, food (and) ice as quickly as we can into those areas," said McCraw, appearing alongside Perry.
Tarrant County officials say as of 11 a.m. Monday, 24 shelters in Tarrant, Hood, Johnson and Parker Counties housed a total of 1,919 evacuees.
Frank Librio, Public Information Director for the City of Dallas, told CBS 11 News at of 1:30 p.m. Monday, there were 974 evacuees still at the Dallas Convention Center and another 75 at the recreation center shelter.
In Austin, more than half of the evacuees who had sought shelter from Ike have since left, but authorities can't say for sure where they are now.
Sara Hartley, emergency operations spokeswoman for the city of Austin, said there were 6,200 evacuees at the peak of sheltering operations that began before Ike hit. Now there are only 2,700, prompting authorities to begin consolidating shelters. There are currently eight shelters open in the city, down from 23, she said.
She said some returned to central and southern coastal areas that were spared the destruction that Ike brought to Galveston and surrounding areas. Others were staying with family and friends, but it was impossible to say how many, she said.
"We have seen almost two-thirds of our evacuees leave our shelters, but we don't know where they're going," Hartley said.
Perry called on evacuees not to add to the woes of authorities in the hardest-hit areas.
"The absolute worst thing that could happen is for people who are in areas that have electricity, that have fuel, that have water, to come back into these areas and put additional strain on the structure that we have in place," Perry said.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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