Evacuees in Georgia eager to return to New Orleans

The last time a hurricane expelled Gwendolyn Jones from her New Orleans home, she had to wait nearly three years to move back.

Tuesday, having fled Hurricane Gustav for a shelter in Villa Rica, the weary Jones said three days seems almost as long.

“We want to go back and see what’s going on,” said Jones, who has spent less than a month in the four-bedroom home she rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. “It’s up in the air right now. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Hundreds of Gulf Coast residents bided their time in Georgia shelters and homes Tuesday, balancing those inner calls home against official calls to stay away a while longer.

“We’re in a holding pattern at this point,” said Ruben Brown, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, “until we get the all-clear.”

Shelters in LaGrange and Lawrenceville had 120 and 60 evacuees, respectively, Brown said. The biggest Georgia refuge was at the Gold Dust Recreation Center in Villa Rica, where 379 people had sought shelter by Monday evening, said Jeff Reese, the center’s director.

The facility didn’t have enough cots for everyone, so volunteers improvised with gymnastics mats and donations from members of the community, Reese said. A steady stream of folks brought in everything from blankets and pillows to toiletries and food. Evacuees remained remarkably upbeat, Reese said, though their concern was obvious.

“They’re paying attention to radio, calling home,” Reese said. “They’re all antsy. They want to go home.”

A mandatory evacuation order and curfew remained in effect Tuesday for New Orleans. And though few people were left in the city, nearly 80,000 homes were without power after the storm damaged transmission lines that snapped like rubber bands in the wind and knocked 35 substations out of service.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin cautioned that Tuesday would be too early for residents to return to New Orleans, but their homecoming was “only days away, not weeks.”

Crews would comb the city Tuesday to review the damage fully, Nagin said, with the goal of having residents return beginning late Wednesday or Thursday. Retailers and other major companies could start sending workers Wednesday to check on their locations, he said. Buses are in place and ready to bring residents back with instructions to drop them off as close as possible to their homes.

Jones, her husband and 20 other family members caravaned to Villa Rica in three SUVs. After learning of Nagin’s request during a Waffle House breakfast Tuesday, she said the family plans to heed the mayor’s call. “He said if everything works out right, we can probably go home as soon as tomorrow,” she said. “I’m gonna be optimistic.”

Making the displacement bearable, Jones said, are the shelter volunteers. They have given her socks and towels, while nurses aware of her diabetes have regularly checked her blood pressure.

“They always have a smile for you,” Jones said. “They always have a kind word.”

— This report contains information from the Associated Press.