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September 1, 2005
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| A man airlifted from New Orleans, Louisiana to Ellington Field in Houston waves to medical personnel in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images ) |
Austin, TX — (AP) After opening the Astrodome in Houston to hurricane refugees, the state of Texas has agreed to take in 25,000 more evacuees from Louisiana and house them in San Antonio, the governor's office said Thursday.
Louisiana requested that Texas provide shelter for the evacuees, and Gov. Rick Perry has spoken with San Antonio officials to begin making the plans, said Robert Black, spokesman for Perry.
"We don't know where, we don't know a timetable yet," Black said.
The 65,000-seat Alamodome in San Antonio is an enclosed stadium next to downtown that could presumably become a shelter for Louisiana residents.
The refugees are in addition to the approximately 25,000 being moved into the Astrodome in Houston, mostly from the Superdome in New Orleans.
After Katrina's wind whipped New Orleans and then floodwaters inundated much of the city, trapping thousands, looting and other lawlessness erupted. Some residents expect it could be weeks or months before they are able to return.
American Red Cross shelters have opened around Texas, Louisiana's biggest neighbor and a close drive for evacuees who headed out on interstate highways leading into the state.
Perry, who agreed Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco's request Wednesday to take in the evacuees, said Texas naturally wants to help its neighbor.
"I think we all understand it's by the grace of God that this terrible tragedy didn't come ashore a few hundred miles west," Perry said. "And knowing such a catastrophe could have happened here, I think Texans have a very special bond between our neighbors to the east who are going through an absolutely unbelievable ordeal at this point in time."
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