Harvey Evacuees Land At SeaWorld, Austin Convention Center
The Federal Emergency Management Agency expects 30,000 evacuees to take shelter in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Sports and entertainment venues across Texas have volunteered space to accommodate those displaced.
The Austin Convention Center’s three exhibit halls are being configured into a small village to accept up to 7,000 people. Evacuees could be staying days, if not weeks, in the city’s convention space. Austin’s homeland security director told KUT Austin’s growth over the last decade since Hurricane Katrina means space is tighter in Austin, but the city has gotten smarter using technology to configure exhibit hall space for longer-term use.
Texas took in 40,000 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Austin Independent School District is providing temporary shelters and preparing to enroll students.
The San Antonio Zoo and SeaWorld are offering to assist displaced animals from Houston’s Downtown Aquarium and the Victoria Zoo. The San Antonio Zoo also is providing free admission to evacuees from impacted counties.
Hotels in both Houston and San Antonio are offering evacuees rooms at deep discounts. Airbnb also is making housing available for hosts willing to offer rooms. Booking fees are waived.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg told NPR the city would do “whatever it takes” to take in evacuees.
In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner opened up the George R. Brown Convention Center for evacuees. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 10,000 were on-site, but there were only accommodations for 5,000 people. In an afternoon news conference, Turner said the nearby Houston Rockets’ Toyota Center will serve as an overflow site for evacuees.
Earlier this week, public outcry skewered pastor Joel Osteen for his failure to open the nationally known mega-church Lakewood Church to evacuees. The 17,000-seat Lakewood, in the heart of Greenway Plaza, was once the Compaq Center, home of the Houston Rockets during their early NBA championships. The church opened its doors to evacuees on Tuesday at noon.
