Bob Roberts, branch manager with Heart of Texas Red Cross serving the Temple and Killeen area, said a shelter set up at First United Methodist Church in Belton was expecting about 30 people.
Other than that, no other shelters had been set up by Monday.
“At the moment we will be accommodating about 30 people from the Louisiana area,” he said. He added that the main problem most of the evacuees have talked about is the cost of finding a way to get back when the storm threat is over.
Woody Durbin, a volunteer with the church, agreed.
“There is a need for fuel costs (funding),” he said. “Everybody we’ve talked to so far has asked about how to get home.”
He said that by Monday afternoon about 15 of the expected evacuees were at the church. He said that during Katrina and Rita, the shelter housed 50 evacuees.
Patrick Nichols of Lake Charles, La., was among the evacuees.
“After Katrina, we moved five to six times,” he said. “New Orleans to Texas, back to Lake Charles, out to Florida, then back to Lake Charles.”
Jerome Nichols Jr., also an evacuee from Lake Charles, checked his cell phone for weather updates and contacted friends still in the area to find that heavy rain and winds tore off a couple of roofs in the area.
“I’m a Vietnam vet and thought that Killeen would have shelter, but when I got here there wasn’t one,” Jerome Nichols Sr. said.
“I called the Killeen PD who told me to call the Red Cross and then we got directions here,” he said. “It was a long day, about 16 hours of driving 5 to 15 mph all the way. We spent every last dime to get here, but after Katrina, when they tell you to evacuate, we leave. We’re used to running from storms.”
Durbin said anyone wishing to donate toward fuel costs or other needs for the evacuees may contact the church or bring the donations in.
He said that in addition to sleeping space, the church is providing meals, showers and a playground for the children. Officials anticipate evacuees will stay no longer than two days at the shelter.
Over the weekend, Temple motels saw an influx of evacuees who sought shelter in Bell County.
Kiesha Artkins was staying at the La Quinta Inn, 1604 W. Barton Ave., with her mother.
Both made the five-hour drive from Port Arthur on Saturday.
“We have nailed everything down that could fly away. Mom didn’t have a holiday this year and we have family in Belton so it was a last-minute thing,” Artkins said.
“I just didn’t want Mom worrying about whether we were going to get flooded or blown away,” Artkins said. “I lived through Katrina before I moved to Mom’s at Port Arthur. I couldn’t sit there and wait again.”
Both were getting some supplies at HEB on West Adams Avenue on Sunday. The La Quinta staff was also busy catering to volunteer evacuees needs, Artkins said.
“They have been very good to us. Making sure we have everything and telling us where we can pick up supplies.”
Howard Johnson and Hilton Garden Inn also were taking in evacuees.
“We have quite a few reservations for people to arrive on Monday,” Wendy Pratt from Howard Johnson Motels said over the weekend.
The Hilton Garden Inn only had a few rooms left when contacted Sunday.
Evacuees started arriving Saturday, Norma Matthews, front desk supervisor. “We have more people arriving today (Sunday) and reservations for Monday.”
Each coastal county is now partnered with an inland county. Bell County’s coastal sister County is Brazoria.
Dennis Baker, Bell County emergency management coordinator, said Brazoria County officials decided Saturday that they would not be evacuating.
Staff photographer Scott Gaulin contributed to this report.
