Crews finish sweep of Galveston; thousands stay
By JON GAMBRELL,
Associated Press Writer
Sept. 17, 2008
TEXAS CITY, Texas - Search crews pulled out of Galveston on Wednesday after completing their sweep of the island for survivors of Hurricane Ike. Thousands remained on the island despite authorities' urging them to leave, and thousands more choked an interstate leading in.
A long convoy of rescue vehicles headed back to Houston past a miles-long line of cars trying to get back into coastal communities despite orders to stay out. The backlog of traffic frustrated transportation officials, who pointed out that among those idling in the choked interstate were emergency crews and trucks hauling resources badly needed on the island.
"It's not a good scenario," said Raquelle Lewis, a Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
Lewis would not estimate the number of cars caught in the backlog, which extended miles past the first checkpoint that is 19 miles north of Galveston. Lewis pleaded with displaced Galveston residents to not waste scarcely available fuel by trying to head home.
Much of the confusion stemmed from Galveston officials' short-lived decision to allow people onto the island Tuesday to examine their property briefly and head back out. The city suspended the "look and leave" policy because within one hour of the announcement, three lanes of vehicles stretching along 15 miles tried to get onto the island.
"We could not accommodate that many people at one time," said city manager Steve LeBlanc. "We were hoping to have more of a trickle of cars than a tidal wave."
Many along the interstate were unaware that the policy had been suspended.
Carlos Azucena, 47, said he had tried three different times in the last 24 hours to get on the island. He said he waited in line for three hours before his final rejection Wednesday.
"I don't understand this. You see those other people," Azucena said, waving at utility workers and contractors being let on to the island. "They don't even live here, I live in Galveston."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff returned to Texas to check on recovery efforts amid growing criticism about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response.
In Houston, most people in the nation's fourth-largest city remained without power for a fifth day, making it tough to track the latest information on where to pick up supplies. For most, the electricity wasn't expected back on for at least another week.
Searchers in boats used sonar to sweep for debris clogging navigation routes into one of the nation's busiest ports.
The search and rescue teams of Texas Task Force 1 spent four days making door-to-door searches across the island for those who rode out the storm. Some of the people they found were evacuated while others chose to stay in their homes.
The task force checked on almost 6,000 people who said that they did not need assistance getting out and performed a total of 3,540 rescues since Friday, said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.
"They've been working around the clock to make sure they get to each area," she said.
There were some cases where searchers were told that a resident had stayed on the peninsula for the hurricane, but had not been seen since.
In those instances, searchers checked the last place where the person was seen, then gave their names to local emergency managers for follow up, said Chuck Jones, a task force team leader. At times, information conflicted, with one neighbor saying a person had stayed for the storm and another saying they had evacuated before it hit.
Galveston County Medical Examiner Stephen Pustilnik confirmed the first death in nearby Brazoria County and gave details on five deaths in Galveston County: Three had serious medical conditions prior to the storm but did not evacuate, one drowned in a truck and one was found in a hotel room.
Ike was blamed for at least 50 deaths in the U.S., most of them coming outside Texas. Dozens more died as the storm moved through the Caribbean. Authorities may never know if, or how many, people who tried to weather the storm were washed out to sea.
Residents again waited in line for hours Wednesday at the roughly two dozen supply distribution centers set up in Houston to hand out food, water and ice. Mayor Bill White complained FEMA wasn't bringing in the supplies fast enough, and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett had personally taken over coordination of efforts to hand out relief supplies.
FEMA officials in Houston said they were refining glitches in the relief effort and delivering millions of meals and water every 24 hours. Spokesman Marty Bahamonde said FEMA will begin paying for 30 days of hotel expenses for homeowners whose houses are uninhabitable. FEMA plans to reimburse the hotels directly.
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Associated Press writers Andre Coe, Paul J. Weber, Monica Rhor, April Castro and Deb Riechmann in Houston, Pauline Arrillaga in San Antonio, Allen G. Breed on Bolivar Peninsula, Jay Root in Austin, and Christopher Sherman and Juan A. Lozano in Galveston contributed to this report.
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On the Net:
FEMA evacuee hotel info:
http://www.femaevachotels.com