Evacuees Face Long Stay in Makeshift Shelters

Hurricane Ike has moved on, but the storm's deadly surge has kept thousands of evacuees holed up in some cramped quarters, unable to return to flooded neighborhoods left dark without electricity.

By: | News Channel 7
Published: September 14, 2008

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Hurricane Ike has moved on, but the storm's
deadly surge has kept thousands of evacuees holed up in some
cramped quarters, unable to return to flooded neighborhoods left
dark without electricity.
Nearly 5,000 evacuees are housed in shelters in San Antonio. The
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says more than 4,000 people
rode out the storm in tents, RVs and campers.
In Tyler, city officials are trying to figure out what to do
with 1,600 people huddled inside what once served as a Wal-Mart
warehouse.
More than 1.2 million people fled the Texas coast as Ike
approached, but officials estimated as many as 140,000 defied
evacuation orders and stayed to ride out the enormous Category 2
storm.
Rescue crews canvassed neighborhoods through the night to save
those who stayed from having to spend another night amid flattened
houses, strewn debris and downed power lines.