Evacuees fleeing from hurricane Laura in the Gulf of Mexico have started arriving in North Texas.
The Texas National Guard and Division of Emergency Management have set up two areas in North Texas where evacuees can get some food and use the restroom.
One location is at the Knights of Columbus hall along I-45 in Ennis. The other is at an adult education center near I-20 and Lawson Road in Mesquite.
One man who pulled into the evacuee reception area in Mesquite says he and his wife had been driving all night from Beaumont.
One man just pulled into the #HurricaneLaura evacuee center in Mesquite with his wife. He says they drove through the night from Beaumont. He says he's been through other hurricanes, including Harvey 3 years ago. "I'm tired of having hurricanes, man." pic.twitter.com/WI33rluT50
— Alan Scaia (@scaia) August 26, 2020"It's supposed to be a Category 3. That ain't nothing to play with," he said. "I've been through a hurricane. I'm tired of hurricanes. I'm ready to just move somewhere. Oklahoma. Somewhere."
"We don't have anywhere else to go," another man said. "We were going to stay at first, and then they ordered the mandatory evacuations."
People won't stay at those reception areas. They can rest for a while and get information from the Red Cross and FEMA.
They are also provided with non-perishable food.
"I'm just so very thankful because you've got to trust in God with it all," a woman who had ridden a bus with her family said. "The best thing to do is get out. If you've got a chance to get out, get out now. You don't have anybody to rescue you, you've got COVID-19, you've just got so much that's happening right now."
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says he's got 300 hotel vouchers and will try to get more if they're needed.
I also signed today an emergency disaster declaration for purposes of setting up a system to provide hotel rooms to people displaced from the coming hurricane. The people coming to Dallas-Fort Worth will not be staying in group shelters rather they will be staying in hotel rooms.
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) August 25, 2020 The City of Austin has started turning people away from the reception area there because they're out of vouchers.
