Evacuees arrive in Valley
150 welcomed to Coliseum, given hot showers, food, access to phone
Robert Anglen, Jessica Coomes, Corinne Purtill and Emily Bittner
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 5, 2005 12:00 AM
Hours after being plucked off rooftops and rescued from overpasses in the flood ravaged city of New Orleans, evacuees from Hurricane Katrina arrived in Phoenix on Sunday.
Wearing week-old clothes and clutching the few meager possessions they managed to save from the havoc, survivors lumbered off planes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and were shuttled to an emergency shelter at the fairgrounds on McDowell Road, where they might spend the next several months. About 150 people touched down Sunday morning, and the total was expected to rise to more than 500 by the end of the night as more flights arrived.
"One man was camped on a freeway overpass all week long. They got him off last night, took him to the airport and now he is in Phoenix. He said all he wanted was a shower and a shave," said Jennifer Liewer, spokeswoman for the Red Cross, which is running a 1,000-bed shelter at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. "We are seeing all ages, all different types of folks. . . . It is very humbling to see what I've seen today."
Fatigued and seemingly overwhelmed, the evacuees spoke in fragmented sentences about their experiences as they were led through a screening process at the shelter.
"I lost track of all my people," said 45-year-old Robert Norwood, who is from a New Orleans housing project and has been living in a cramped apartment with five other people for the past six days. "I stayed to help people."
Norwood said he might have stayed even longer if the stench of rotting corpses had not forced him out.
"I had no other choice. The smell alone would've killed us," he said.
Gov. Janet Napolitano, who toured the Coliseum on Sunday night, said the tales of those inside were all compelling.
"Virtually everybody I talked to tonight lost their home and all of their possessions," Napolitano said.
One man arrived with 96 cents in a plastic baggie. Another told her how he had to swim from his apartment to high ground. Still another was plucked off his rooftop at 2 a.m. Sunday, hours before he was flown to Phoenix.
"The other compelling story is how Arizonans are wrapping their arms around these folks and showing them the Arizona way," Napolitano said.
Cots a few feet apart lined the concrete floor of Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Evacuees ate beef stew, green beans, bread and butter and cookies for dinner.
"A lot of people have been sleeping since they first came in," said Jake Saylor, a Red Cross spokesman.
Dozens of volunteers were inside the Coliseum, checking for medical problems with the evacuees, giving them showers and hot meals, clean clothes and access to a phone to try to find loved ones.
Many are asking for a TV so they can watch football.
Eating a banana in the waiting area of the Coliseum, Ronald Sippio, 44, described sleeping on the patio of a friend's New Orleans apartment after the flood from a broken levee destroyed his home.
"I lost all my stuff," Sippio said, gesturing to three multicolored book bags containing some clothes and other sundries that make up everything he has left.
Liewer said the Red Cross is working on three types of scenarios for evacuees.
• Those who are staying in the shelter in hope of returning to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
• Those who are staying only long enough to locate relatives and move to other regions of the country.
• Those who plan to permanently relocate to Arizona.
"Right now, we are just letting folks know that we are happy to see them," Liewer said. "We know shelter life is difficult. . . . The goal is not to have these folks trapped in the building."
Although there has been an outpouring of community support, the Red Cross is asking people not to show up at the shelter. Liewer said those wanting to volunteer or make donations should call the Red Cross at 1-877-240-9735 or log onto the Web site
www.az211.gov.
Jerry and Tess Naeyaert were among those turned away on Sunday. The couple drove up from Chandler to volunteer at the Coliseum and with an offer to host orphaned children in their home.
"They don't have no mom and dad anymore," Tess said. "We don't have a whole lot of money, but we want to do what we can."
The Salvation Army should have collection sites for other donations set up in coming days, Napolitano said.
While the immediate needs of food, shelter and clothing are being met, city, county and state officials are working on ways to assimilate the evacuees into Arizona. That includes issuing state identification cards, arranging interviews with jobs counselors and arranging temporary and permanent housing.
Many of the evacuees will likely qualify for federal emergency assistance and will also need to meet with the Federal Emergency Management Agency officials about loans, grants and other financial aid.
Tables have been set up so the evacuees can apply for food stamps, medical benefits assistance, cash assistance, more permanent housing, schools and unemployment insurance. Some of the red tape has been removed to make it easier for evacuees.
Evacuated children may be able to attend school as early as Tuesday.
By today, the state plans to post lists of registered evacuees on
www.az211.gov.
"We've just been figuring it out as we are going," said Cam Hunter, spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, which is coordinating the relief effort. "We immediately decided we need to be prepared for six or seven months."
Hunter said the state is unsure how many hurricane evacuees might end up in Arizona.
Once the Coliseum reaches its limit of 1,000 beds, other sites have been arranged in Tucson and at Arizona State University.
The Tucson Convention Center has 800 available beds when Phoenix fills up.
"They asked us if (we) could take at least 1,000 people. If that goes up to 1,800 or 2,000, that's OK," Hunter said. "We know this is for the long term. This is not a disaster area where these people can return to right away."
An America West flight carrying the evacuees taxied to a halt in front of the Arizona Air National Guard terminal at 10:40 a.m. Sunday. The first evacuee to leave the airplane was a frail woman who was leaning on a cane and needed to be helped down the stairs by medical personnel awaiting the plane's arrival.
Following the woman, the rest of the group walked, limped or were pushed by wheelchair into a large hanger converted into a processing center and medical triage site.
Those who could carried backpacks, bundles of clothing, plastic shopping bags and pets. One man in a baggy white T-shirt and red baseball cap walked a frisky yellow, Labrador-sized dog on a leash.
There were about 20 children in the group, with the youngest about 7 years old, said Dr. Bradley Phillips, a trauma surgeon with the Maricopa Medical Center who was assisting the evacuees.
Medical personnel and other officials described the evacuees as exhausted yet largely grateful.
"A majority of them were in a good mood," said Capt. Paul Aguirre, public affairs officer for the Arizona National Guard. "A couple of them all said the same thing: 'We're just glad to be on dry ground.' "
Medical personnel treated 10 to 15 people on site for dehydration, cuts and symptoms caused by lack of medication, Phillips said. Many people with chronic health conditions had been unable to take their medicine for a week. Ambulances stood by to transport those needing additional care to Maricopa Medical Center.
All the evacuees were screened at the airport for communicable diseases such as dysentery or cholera. Two were kept for additional evaluation as a precaution, though Phillips said it was unlikely they were carrying any disease.
Bus driver Allen Hopfinger brought the first round of evacuees from the airport to the Coliseum Sunday afternoon. The mood on the short bus trip was calm, he said, and he got a few hugs as the hurricane victims got off his bus.
"They seemed to be in fairly good spirits," Hopfinger said. "I'd've thought they'd be a little more in the dumps."
Clergy members and volunteers welcomed the evacuees as they stepped off the bus and entered the Coliseum, shaking hands and giving hugs. Most of the evacuees carried everything they owned in plastic bags.
Past a pair of medical detectors, the evacuees were given snacks and drinks and were checked in to the Coliseum, a building swarming with volunteers and government employees from numerous organizations.
After getting photos for security badges, they were screened by a nurse. Doctors, nurses and mental health professionals were on hand for patients needing more serious attention.
Families were assigned to one massive public sleeping area, and single people were assigned to another. All were provided with cots and blankets. Internet access wasn't set up, but 16 phone stations were available. A children's area was stocked with blankets, toys and diapers.
At the entrance to the Coliseum on McDowell Road, a group of local well-wishers equipped with balloons and homemade signs bearing slogans such as Welcome to Arizona - God Bless You" and "Welcome Home" welcomed the buses as they pulled into the center.
