The City of Mesquite is working to find hotel rooms for evacuees leaving the Texas coast ahead of Hurricane Laura.
The State of Texas had secured hotel rooms for hundreds of people who took buses to an evacuee center along Interstate 20, but the state had not made plans for additional people who drove up individually.
"The most important thing for us here in the City of Mesquite is to make sure all evacuees feel important, feel valued and know we empathize with their situation," says the city's Wayne Larson.
Larson says the city provided hotel rooms for about two dozen people who drove on their own Tuesday evening. Wednesday, he said the Mesquite Convention and Visitors Bureau was trying to find blocks of available rooms for evacuees.
More: Tracking Hurricane Laura
The city has worked with the state to provide shelter for evacuees before, but Larson says COVID-19 forced additional restrictions. Larson says evacuees were also processed differently. Normally, he says evacuees would get off the bus and go into a large, tented area together to register. Now, he says people are being entered into the system while people stay on the bus or in their car.
"Every situation is unique and different, particularly this one with a worldwide pandemic in place," he says. "But we were prepared and are prepared to safely process and assist evacuees."
Larson says people who drove in their own cars and stopped in Mesquite received vouchers for rooms and three meals a day through Sunday.
The evacuee reception center in Ennis was set up to receive individuals evacuating in their own cars. That location is at the Knights of Columbus Hall: 850 S. IH-45 Ennis, TX 75119
