Thursday, September 22, 2005

NOTICE Regarding HURRICANE RITA evacuees

Subject: Waco Relief Effort update

Status Update as of September 22nd at 2:30pm from
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management

NOTICE Regarding HURRICANE RITA evacuees: The City of Waco has opened five shelters to receive people from the Gulf Coast of Texas and is
addressing the special needs of these evacuees. In addition to City recreation
staff, the American Red Cross is providing food, staffing and support needs.
The State of Texas has indicated that everyone should be out of the
impacted areas and in shelters by 6:00pm today (Thursday).
Information to help evacuees from the Texas Gulf Coast find a place to
stay can be found on the City's web site or the Convention & Visitors Center
website at www.wacocvb.com .
The Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management Office (EOC) is now in 24
hour activation. It is in communication with State and all other county
emergency management offices via conference calls each day. As part of the
emergency response plan for special need evacuees, Waco Transit is providing
required transportation.


People who need sheltering must first call 254-750-5911 to receive
current information on availability of space before going to any of these
shelters.

Locations of local shelters:
Bledsoe Miller Recreation Center - 300 MLK Jr. Drive - 750-8684
South Waco Recreation Center - 2815 Speight - 750-8650
Dewey Recreation Center - 925 N. 9th St. - 750-8677
Cameron Park Club House - 2601 Sturgis
Harrison Community Center - 772-9317
The Sul Ross Community Center and Multipurpose Center are also being
used for specific special needs.

The South Waco Library will remain open until 9pm Thursday and Friday
nights to allow evacuees who are being sheltered in the adjacent South Waco
Recreation Center to have access to their computers and other
resources.

Green Family Camp in Bruceville is receiving evacuees and as of this
update had 100 evacuees and a potential of receiving 200 more as referred by
Waco-McLennan County Emergency Management. We understand that Latham
Springs Camp is full.

Evacuees who have horses to board can call Hyde Markum at 254-723-4011
or Dave Stewart at 254-709-2196.

Waco-McLennan County Public Health District staff along with Waco Fire
Rescue are visiting each of the shelters to attend to and monitor
special health and medical needs of evacuees.
Evacuees who are bringing their dogs or cats that need to have them
boarded while staying at a shelter can call 752-3369.

The Texas Highway Department is working with local communities on
routes out of the impacted areas. Road signs have been placed along routes
showing the capacity of a community to provide sheltering. As a community's
sheltering capacity is met, evacuees are advised, via road signs, to continue on
the route until the next community is reached.

Waco Convention Center announced that the following scheduled events
for this weekend have been cancelled: Waco Wild West Century Bike Ride,
Balloon Glow, Waco Cultural Arts Fest, Sickle Cell Banquet.

Specific Need Request: Robinson Garden Drive Apartments has an
immediate need for 22 air mattresses to use for Hurricane Rita evacuees staying
temporarily at their facility. If you can help call 662-3550.

At this time no resources or requests for specific donations have been
requested to support the relief efforts of Hurricane Rita. As the
needs arise, they will be passed on via these media updates and other
releases.

As the direction of travel of the storm is determined, citizens are
asked to be prepared for sustained winds from 35-60 miles an hour and heavy
rain.
City officials continue to prepare for disruption of electrical power,
downed trees, flooded streets or other issues. Essential things to
have in an event of such a storm are: Flashlight, pre-cooked food, and a
battery powered radio or tv. The safest place to be is in your home, away from
windows if the storm is blowing strong. Never attempt to drive or
cross through moving water that may be deeper than it looks. Children should
be told not to play in creeks or places where water flows.


Mayor Virginia DuPuy has visited each of the active shelters and
extended a Waco welcome to evacuees and assured them of the City's commitment to
provide for their immediate needs. She plans to revisit the shelters
several times throughout the weekend.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and other
local attractions are offering special discount admission tickets for use by
Hurricane Rita evacuees to help them enjoy their time in Waco.

Central United Methodist Church has accepted eight evacuees, through
their membership, to shelter. They are not accepting any more for sheltering.
Waco Christian Fellowship reports that they are sheltering 48 residents
from a retirement home along with their 12 staff members. They also still
have 29 Katrina evacuees.
The Greater Robinson Relief Center is temporarily sheltering 25 people
from Hurricane Rita.

Waco ISD reports one new student for a total of 66 students, Midway has
26, and Robinson has 2.

Over 100 evacuees from Hurricane Katrina visited the "One Stop Shop"
provided by The City of Waco and Waco-McLennan County Emergency
Management at the Waco Convention Center on Wednesday. Evacuees were able to talk
in person with representatives from a number of federal, state and local
agencies to help them reestablish their lives.

The Salvation Army canteens not deployed in Louisiana and Mississippi
are being prepared for deployment along the Texas coast. Cash donations
are needed and can be made by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY or online at
www.salvationarmyusa.org , or at the
local Salvation Army location at 500 S. 4th Street in Waco. Please designate
your gift for "Disaster Katrina" or "Rita".

A transcript of this report and all other daily updates along with
information and other local and national resource information for help
are being added regularly to the City's web site. By going to
www.waco-texas.com you will find several links for information on the communities efforts and the nation. Citizen volunteers are encouraged to print out these
resource web pages to provide to evacuees that they are serving and who do not
have web access. The city will be happy to provide as many printed copies
as may be needed by calling 750-5636.

Anyone who comes into our community that needs sheltering, please call
750-5911.

This update is as of September 22nd at 2:30pm. These updates will
continue to be issued daily until all known evacuees are placed in permanent
housing and no locally operated shelters are in operation. To submit
information to be considered for these reports email Larryh@ci.waco.tx.us or call
750-5636 and leave the desired information.
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