Weather

North Texas Prepares To Assist Gustav Evacuees

FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ― Three years ago, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. Confusion reigned and thousands fled to North Texas.

Now another hurricane is taking aim at the Gulf Coast, and the State of Texas is preparing for a direct hit form Hurricane Gustav. Late Friday afternoon, Dallas County Commissioners declared an emergency and continued to prepare for the situation.

Shelters are expecting to accommodate about 4,100 evacuees. People could start fleeing the storm as early as Sunday. The Dallas County Health Department loaded personal hygiene supplies stored in a warehouse onto vehicles and sent them to area shelters.

The Dallas Convention Center will be the largest of all the shelters. According to authorities, the shelter could host over 1,000 people and at the same time would still be able to accept guests for next week's Wal-Mart convention.

Evacuee receiving sites will be set up in Mesquite and Fort Worth for any drive-up evacuees. Receiving sites will also be set up at whichever airports evacuees begin to arrive.

 Area hotels are also helping out by offering discounts for evacuees. Click here for a list of participating hotels.

At its Dallas headquarters, the Red Cross is also processing volunteers and shipping supplies to South Texas.

As the state prepares for Gustav, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) teams are now on 24-hour duty. They're braced to respond to Gustav's worst from a bunker in Denton.

Francesca Ramos is already busy; hustling through layers of agents from every imaginable agency her job is to find answers for outside officials and media.

FEMA is monitoring people and resources around the Gulf Bend as the countdown to Gustav continues.

"We maintain contact with not only the states but also with other FEMA offices and with the Department of Homeland Security," Ramos explained.

There are warehouses across North Texas, and the country, that are piled high with water and food - ready to go where needed.

Friday, at a regularly scheduled meeting of Texas mayors the talk was all Gustav.  "We're looking at activating our EOC; Emergency Operations Center," Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said. We're not going to get caught with our britches down."

The evacuation of medical and special needs patients from Port Arthur and Beaumont may begin Sunday.  The approximately 500 patients will be sent to the Dallas/Fort Worth and El Paso area.

Patients will arrive in North Texas by federal and state military aircraft, as well as by private medical aircrafts. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the primary arrival destination for the patients who will then be transported to one of 20 hospitals across the metro area.

Meanwhile, at least 100 school buses were ready to go help evacuate people from the Gulf Coast. The drivers were given food, flashlights and other supplies.

The buses will take evacuees to shelters across the state, but will be back in time for the start of school after the Labor Day holiday.

In addition to those challenges, Transportation Security Administration officers from Dallas/Fort Worth are being deployed to New Orleans to relieve local TSA workers there. The last of the federal workers to leave Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans will then come to Dallas/Fort Worth where they will set up camp for as long as 10 days. Those coming to North Texas would include up to 800 TSA officers, Air Marshals, Customs Agents and Department of Defense workers.

Evacuees can call 211 to get information on shelters and resources.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---