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Sep 23, 2008 1:11 pm US/Central
900 Ike Evacuees Remain In San Antonio
Leaders Go To Washington Looking For Billions In Funds
(AP)
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Galveston police officer Herbert Graves feeds an abandoned cat following Hurricane Ike Sept. 16, 2008, in Galveston, Texas.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited with the approximately 900 Hurricane Ike evacuees remaining in a San Antonio shelter on Tuesday.
He said he understands folks are anxious to get home to begin recovery, but that he was pleased with state and local response to the disaster that slammed the state early Sept. 13.
Perry says lessons will be learned from Ike, but he believes officials did well in evacuating residents and minimizing loss of life. The storm has been blamed for 26 deaths in Texas.
While Perry remained in Texas, Gulf Coast officials went to Capitol Hill to plead for fast federal money for hurricane recovery with a minimum of red tape.
Lieutenant Gov. David Dewhurst said Texas is looking at a $11.4 billion price tag for Ike's damages, including $16 million in damage to Houston. He said that doesn't include costs for devastated Galveston, which the island city's mayor said suffered more than $2 billion in damage.
Louisiana Lieutenant Gov. Mitch Landrieu said his state's looking at $1 billion in damage from hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
Later today, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's expected to tell House members that the $40 million cost of evacuating his city for Hurricane Gustav has led to hiring freezes and a halt of any new expenditures.
Houston Mayor Bill White asked that money be sent directly to the city for immediate use, instead of the typical reimbursement processes in place for most of the recovery programs. He asked that the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator be given the authority to come up with new, flexible recovery programs.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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