Many Evacuees Flee With Little, May Return to Less

From Houston to Atlanta and hundreds of points between, the refugees from Hurricane Katrina made their way, most having no idea when -- if ever -- they would be able to return to their homes.

Unlike most hurricanes, Katrina has gotten worse as time has gone on, particularly in New Orleans, where the flooding intensified Wednesday and any remaining services disappeared.

Those who left before the hurricane hit Monday can only listen from afar as officials predict that it could be months before they will be able to return home.

President Bush said Wednesday that about 78,000 people were in shelters and that number probably would grow. Many more have checked into hotels or are staying with relatives and friends elsewhere. According to officials, 90% of the homes in New Orleans have been inundated by water.

Besides being homeless, many of the dispossessed are confronting crucial decisions, including enrolling their children in schools and looking for jobs in the towns where they have landed. Most have left nearly everything behind and are relying on the goodwill of others and, if they have them, credit cards.

In Louisiana, 40,000 people are in 120 shelters. And, in a massive group relocation, about 23,000 people stranded in the now-fetid New Orleans Superdome are being bused to Houston’s Astrodome and elsewhere.

“The remarkable offer from Texas did not have an end date,” said Ann Williamson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Social Services, who was working on the evacuation plans.

At an Atlanta recreation center transformed into a refugee shelter, Dennis Cooper of New Orleans said he was there because he had run out of money.

“I’m just putting it out of my head,” he said of the hurricane and his ruined life. “I’ve left everything behind. I had $100 in quarters, $70 in dimes and $100 in pennies. All I came with is this,” referring to his T-shirt, shorts and white Reebok sneakers.

Under his cot he had stored fruit, doughnuts and drinks.

“I need my pills for seizures,” he said. “I forgot them at home.”

Among the more fortunate, six busloads of displaced Tulane University students and staff went to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. By Tuesday evening, most of them had left for the city’s Hartsfield airport, in an effort to catch planes to their hometowns.

But Qun Wang, 23, a law student from China, and some of his friends were left in Georgia Tech’s student center, wondering where to go.

“We are not rich people,” he said. “We cannot afford the accommodation the university found us. We found a friend in Los Angeles who could put us up, but we don’t know whether to fly there.

“I should have brought more books with me,” said Wang, who had a backpack containing his passport and laptop computer. “I wish I had brought my printer.”

The first thing Joseph Zardes did after arriving at his brother’s house in Jonesboro, Ga., was to enroll his 17-year old son in a new high school.

“We plan to be here for a while,” he said.

Then he went to the Adairsville, Ga., Red Cross shelter to ask for Benadryl, for his allergies, and the antidepressant Lexapro, for his nerves.

“It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact number of refugees,” said a spokesman for the Atlanta area Red Cross. “People are showing up by the minute as they run out of money.”

The Adairsville center reached its capacity of 150 Wednesday afternoon, and was referring evacuees to a shelter in Covington, Ga., which has a capacity of 400.

“We didn’t realize how big this was going to blossom,” said Ruben Brown, the Adairsville shelter’s coordinator, as he scanned the foyer full of evacuees.

Just then, Shirley Franklin, the mayor of Atlanta, appeared, offering help.

“We’ve never encountered anything on the scale we are about to encounter,” she said. “They’ve asked for assistance from our police and fire departments. Residents are already putting people up. All the churches are going to open their doors.”

Chanell Esprit, 29, and her sister left their homes in New Orleans on Sunday and drove their four children to their aunt’s three-bedroom house in East Point, in southwest Atlanta.

“I came from almost a middle-class life,” she said. “It’s gone.”

Esprit plans to set up a new life in Atlanta.

“I’m not going back to nothing,” she said. “My auntie opened the door here for me, but that’s only for a while. I’m going to try and live here.”

Floyd Morris, 47, from New Orleans, arrived at the center Tuesday with his family, including his 92-year-old grandmother.

“We ran out of money, so we ended up staying at a gas station in Atlanta,” he said Wednesday. “The gas station was kind enough to let us park there and charge our cellphones up. Us men spread blankets on the ground and my grandmother, mother and sister slept in the SUV. One of us kept awake and stood on guard.

“Our home is pretty much underwater,” he said. “I have some nieces back there and some cousins. They were in the neighborhood where everyone stood on rooftops. I hope they’re OK. Their communication is out.

“I feel very lucky. Every time we made a turn, God helped us.”

Morris’ family owns a restaurant in the heart of downtown New Orleans.

“It’s been our family business for the past 30 years. It’s not anything special. Just one of those places that makes New Orleans special. It’s nice and cheap.”

“Right now, we don’t have anything else to think about except going back,” he said. “I expect it will be two or three years until we can function properly.”

In Alexandria, La., a long-term shelter was being set up Wednesday at the Rapides Coliseum, a covered stadium. Coordinator Jim Harlow said 1,600 cots were being distributed on the stadium floor.

“We consider this a long-term shelter,” Harlow said. “These people don’t have squat. Two days ago they were in attics with water up to their necks.”

DeAnn Weaver, who arrived at the shelter Wednesday morning, said she and others had been driving all over the South for days, from one motel to another.

Another New Orleans arrival was Dynisha Hyde, who said she wanted to return to her home even if it was destroyed.

“We’ve been watching TV and watching more TV,” Hyde said. “I need closure. We’ve got to make a new life.”

Times staff writers Julie Cart in Alexandria and Lianne Hart in Baton Rouge, La., contributed to this report.