Big Texas-style welcome for storm evacuees

Some critics are saying that the Astrodome isn’t suited to accommodate so many people.What is the response to that?
Clearly it was not built to be a long-term shelter. It was built for pro-football and pro-baseball, which it served happily for thirty-five years.

But, in contrast to the Superdome, it's a better situation — one big reason is because it does have air-conditioning. Authorities plan is actually to put people here initially and then try to get them out to some longer term shelters in the area.

So, no, it’s not perfectly suited, but it’s the best that can be provided right now. 

There are reports that authorities in Houston are only opening their doors to those fleeing the New Orleans Superdome? What is the situation with that?
Houston is already bulging at the seams with people from Louisiana. You practically can’t get a hotel room in Houston, they are full of people who escaped Katrina in advance.

But, hotel rooms are expensive and a lot of these people no longer have jobs, obviously, and can’t afford to live out of a hotel.

So, there are a lot of people wanting in to the shelters and into the Astrodome, not just from the Superdome. That is causing more of an issue than authorities first believed.

The information that has been distributed in Houston, that the Astrodome will be a shelter, has brought out thousands more people than they expected and they just are not certain how to deal with the logistics at the moment.

What is the security like at the Astrodome? Are there National Guard troops there?
They have not allowed journalists inside, so I don’t know about what kind of security is inside the Astrodome. So far we’ve seen a strong Houston police presence on the perimeter.

Everybody will be searched. They are going to be very restrictive on what can be brought in and they are not going to allow anything dangerous in there. Upon exit and re-entry to the Astrodome, authorities tell us they will search people each time.

More than 20,000 people have live under one roof and that is going to be very difficult considering their circumstances.

There has been a large effort on the part of the city of Houston and the state of Texas to make these people feel welcome.

Throughout the day, big trucks have been delivering goods here and individuals have been driving up with just a trash bag of donated goods. The schools are making accommodations to let students into Houston schools as early as next week.

The Lone Star State is making an effort to extend a Texas-sized welcome.

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