Ilonggos in Texas ready relief, open homes for Pinoy-evacuees in New Orleans, Louisiana
Ilonggos based in Houston, Texas, USA worked over the weekend to gather forces and put together emergency assistance for Filipino-evacuees from New Orleans and Louisiana.
With mandatory evacuation orders issued, the residents in both US States were ordered to flee because of a 'monster storm' in Hurricane Gustav.
In a text message sent yesterday afternoon to The News Today (TNT), Texas-based Ilonggo photojournalist Rufino "Pinoy" Gonzales disclosed immediate help for fellow Filipinos.
"Filipinos in New Orleans and Louisiana are evacuating right now fearing Hurricane Gustav that will hit their area on Monday with winds 245 kilometer per hour and gust winds of 295 kilometer per hour. My group here in Houston are preparing for their arrival and relief," Gonzales said.
International news wires had continued updates on Hurricane Gustav with reported deaths of more than 80 people in the Caribbean. It strengthened quickly into a Category 4, feared to become a Category 5 storm.
Associated Press in a report said New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin "used stark language to urge residents to get out of the city, calling Gustav the "storm of the century."
"This is the real deal, not a test," Nagin said as he issued the evacuation order Saturday night. "For everyone thinking they can ride this storm out, I have news for you: that will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your life."
The city will not offer emergency services to those who choose stay behind, Nagin said, and there will be no "last resort" shelter as there was during Katrina, when thousands suffered inside a squalid Superdome. The city said in a news release that those not on their property after the mandatory evacuation started would be subject to arrest.
News wires further reported of "clogged roadways, emptied gas stations of fuel and jammed phone circuits."
"We want to be of help in any way we can," Gonzales added. "So we open our homes and our resources to our fellow Filipinos and to the rest of the evacuees we can reach out to."
Gonzales confirmed that traffic late Saturday night (Sunday morning here) was "stop and go" on Interstate 10, heading west into Houston from the Louisiana border. Texas, international news wires continued, prepared to house up to 45,000 evacuees though said state's eastern stretches were within the range of where Gustav could make landfall.