LaFITTE, Louisiana (AP) — Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fled inland from an approaching storm deemed “unsurvivable” by forecasters, heeding warnings from leaders in two states, but leaving some without help as available space in hotels and shelters filled quickly.
Evacuees arrived as far as Ennis, Texas, a city south of Dallas that’s roughly 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the coast, as the approaching Hurricane Laura grew in power hours before its expected landfall.
James and Samantha Bison evacuated from Jasper, about 200 miles away, and eventually made their way to Ennis by early Tuesday morning after being directed there by a 211 information line. Hoping for a place to stay, they ended up sleeping in their car. When they called 211 again, an operator told them to drive to San Antonio, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) in a different direction.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state has 200,000 hotel rooms across the state for evacuees. But as of Wednesday afternoon, the couple was waiting for a call from the Red Cross amid hopes the agency would have a hotel room for them somewhere. Samantha, 30, said the couple and their two dogs, Buffy and Girl, remained outside in the heat due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Inside the hall, evacuees in face masks waited at tables and on hold with Dallas County Case Management, whose number was being given out at the entrance. Some munched on free bags of Cheetos and drank from plastic water bottles.
Like the Bisons, others had come to Ennis hoping for shelter. But Mayor Angeline Juenemann said all the hotels in the area were “100% booked” and the city never received vouchers to give people.
“We don’t have a place for them to sleep,” Juenemann said. “We just really need to set the record straight.”
In the south Louisiana community of Delcambre, a steady stream of customers stopped by Shawn’s Cajun Meats and Grocery for last-minute supplies.
“Getting some snacks. Definitely getting some beer. I’m pretty sure that’s the highest-selling product around here,” said Austin Domingues, 26.
Domingues said he and his family had been prepping for the last three days for Laura. At his father’s nearby sugar cane farm, “we’ve been moving equipment on the highest ground we have.”
While Domingues said his wife likely would evacuate to Lafayette, further north and east of Delcambre, he and other members of his family planned to stay put. He said he expected to stay at his father’s farm, where the house is 14 feet (4 meters) off the ground.
“I don’t know if it’s too smart, but we’re going to stay just in case we need to help people out,” he said.
But Lexie Creighton, who was rounding up shopping carts outside the grocery store, said she planned to head to Lafayette after ending her shift, rather than ride out Laura. Her home took on water during Hurricane Rita, which ravaged the Gulf Coast just days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“Getting out of the surge, you know?” she said. “The water’s going to come up. It’s better safe than sorry.”
In Lake Charles, Louisiana, the National Guard was picking up residents in school buses and taking them to a local coliseum. Many of those evacuated were families with small children. The National Weather Service evacuated its office in Lake Charles, transferring its forecasting duties to the service’s office in Brownsville, Texas.
Leaders in both Texas and Louisiana urged residents to flee in the final hours before landfall made it too dangerous to travel.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the city of Austin had run out of free hotel rooms, forcing officials to send evacuees further away from the coast.
Kidd said the convention center in Austin might be opened to temporarily house evacuees while more hotel rooms are set up for residents. He said hotel rooms are being reserved for evacuees in the nearby counties of Bell, Hays and Williamson.
Traci Shannon left Galveston for her parents’ home in north Houston on Tuesday with her husband, two teenagers, and six pets.
“It would be hard to find a hotel or shelter that accepts all the animals we have,” she said. “We could hide the rat and the gecko but my husband is a disabled vet and he has a comfort dog that’s about 45 pounds.”
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