Texas Officials Hope Get Most Evacuees Home By Thursday
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Texas Officials Hope Get Most Evacuees Home By Thursday
Texas officials hope to get nearly 8,000 hurricane evacuees still in shelters around the state back to their homes by Thursday.
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(September 3, 2008)--Texas officials say they hope to get nearly 8,000 hurricane evacuees who remain in shelters across the state back to their homes by Thursday.

Gov. Rick Perry visited a shelter Wednesday in Tyler where hundreds who fled Hurricane Gustav packed clothes into suitcases and trash bags while waiting for buses to return them to Beaumont.

“While we are thankful that Texas was spared from a direct hit, I am proud of Texas’ efforts to protect residents and property from the threat of this hurricane,” Perry said.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued in Hardin, Jefferson and Orange Counties, but those orders were lifted early Tuesday morning.

About 280,000 residents of South Texas headed inland and about 10,000 more with special needs were transported by bus to various shelters.

The 8,000 special needs evacuees were being returned home starting Wednesday.

The state is also coordinating the return of evacuees from Louisiana who sought shelter in Texas.

While New Orleans won't officially open its doors until midnight, some suburbs are already welcoming residents back.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says people won't be turned away, but warned that the city remains in a "very, very vulnerable state."

Traffic was heavy Wednesday on the roads around the Louisiana coastline, as residents began to return to their homes.

Some of the returning evacuees expressed frustration that it has taken officials so long to sound the all clear.

Officials have raised Gustav's U.S. death toll to 16, mostly from traffic accidents.

The storm killed 94 as it swept through the Caribbean.

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Latest Comments

Posted by: Just sayin is all Location: Ft Hood on Sep 3, 2008 at 12:46 PM

Did you see the headline in some newspapers today? Alot of evacuees said that the government overreacted and that they shoudlnt of had to leave. What a bunch of idiots. Then again they are probably related to the idiots that DIDNT evacuate during Katrina and so increased the amount of help needed to save their dumb#($'s
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