"Everybody just had to get up and go." Galveston residents seek shelter in Austin
Hundreds of Texans who live along the gulf coast are arriving in Austin.
"We got up this morning, and then mama, she was like, 'we got to evacuate,'" said Howard Amos. "So we started packing our clothes, and now we're here."
20-year-old Amos and 17-year-old Adrian Gould are among a number of Galveston residents who journeyed to Austin by bus, seeking shelter as Galveston and other coastal cities brace for Hurricane Laura's impact.
"Getting on the bus, it was hot. And then on the way here, it was long. The longest way here ever," said Gould.
"We anticipate over the next three to four days, there's going to be over 400 busloads of people that come out, and plus there's people that are also driving their cars. So they'll stop here, check in and then move on," said Rick Abbott.
Abbott is the Chief Operating Officer for Circuit of the Americas, which is now acting as the intake center for evacuees.
"We immediately started mobilizing. We host large gatherings, and we have a lot of space, a lot of parking space. So it was an easy answer for us to get involved," said Abbott. "They get here, let them get off the bus, let them stretch their legs a bit, let them grab some water, coffee or whatever, get them boarded again and then they go to their final location of where they're going to stay, and stay out the storm."
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Officials with the City of Austin's Office of Homeland and Emergency Management their Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan typically involves using schools as shelters for evacuees. However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, evacuees will now be staying in hotels to maximize their health and safety.
"I appreciate them for letting us go to hotels, [because] if it wasn't a hotel, it would've been a shelter," said Gould.
Upon arriving at COTA, Galveston residents are issued a COVID-19 screening on the bus and assigned to stay in one of at least 15 hotels in the Austin area. There are also a number of other hotels identified in Williamson and Hays counties that are able to take in evacuees.
"I really feel safe. I see all the extra steps that [you all are] taking to keep us safe, so we feel safe," said Joseph Middleton, a Galveston resident who drove into Austin with his family.
Like other Galveston residents, Gould and Amos are glad to be out of harm's way but thinking about those who may have stayed behind.
"I just hope everybody that is in Galveston is out of Galveston," said Amos "It's a big blessing that these people are helping us."
Emergency management officials say the Central Texas area is prepared to take in 3,000 people from Galveston seeking shelter. Those seeking shelter are asked to arrive at Circuit at the Americas so they can receive all the information necessary, including hotel and COVID-19 information.
