More than 1,000 Louisianans in Tarrant are waiting to return home

Nathaniel Jones

Sep. 4, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Olidge Narcisse is grateful, but he has one big problem with the city of Fort Worth: It's not home.

Narcisse, 49, who left his home in the New Orleans area Sunday night to avoid Hurricane Gustav, is one of more than 1,000 south Louisiana residents staying in Tarrant County shelters and waiting for the bus ride back home.

"I love the city from what I've seen so far," Narcisse said Wednesday afternoon. "But when more money is going out than what is coming in, you begin to miss home."

South Louisiana residents fleeing Gustav began arriving in North Texas on Sunday night. The hurricane hit Monday morning.

Late Tuesday, President Bush authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide individual assistance to Louisiana residents of several parishes. The assistance can include grants for temporary housing, home repairs and other "serious disaster-related expenses," according to FEMA.

Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration also will be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance, according to the agency.

By late Wednesday, buses, cars packed with sleeping bags and groceries began pulling away from Tarrant County.

Arlington shelters close

The Emergency Operations Center in Arlington was deactivated Wednesday. It had been staffed since Sunday with emergency management officials and volunteers from agencies such as the Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Team and Tarrant County Public Health. The operations center is the coordination point for all the city's response resources.

The two Arlington shelters -- the Salvation Army Life Center on Abram Street north of the University of Texas at Arlington, and the North Davis Church of Christ on North Davis Avenue -- closed Wednesday. Six buses left for Pineville, La., and took about 340 people back to Lafayette, Iberia and Jefferson Davis parishes.

"The people here were well-prepared with the essentials to last three to five days," Capt. Andy Miller of the Salvation Army said. "Things ran so smoothly that we were able to get them on their way before 10 a.m."

400 remain in Fort Worth

In Fort Worth, nearly 400 people remained in shelters and faith-based facilities. Officials are trying to coordinate their transportation home, said Juan Ortiz, director of the Fort Worth Emergency Management Office.

"We may have 20 people at each of the shelters spread across the county who need to get to the same parish," Ortiz said. "Once we figure out which people from each shelter need to go where, then the buses will be able to pull off."

Narcisse has been at First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth with his 80-year-old father since Sunday. He doesn't know what to expect when he gets back home.

"I don't know if I have a roof, blown-out windows or what," he said. "I guess for now I'll have to prepare for the worst."

About 75 people are stuck in Hurst till Friday

The stay for evacuees in Hurst is expected to take a little longer. About 75 evacuees from near Houma aren't expected to leave until at least Friday.

At the Dallas Convention Center, 235 Louisiana residents stayed Tuesday night, and officials were expecting fewer than 100 by Wednesday night, said Anita Foster, spokeswoman for the area Red Cross chapter.

Staff writer Darren Barbee contributed to this report.

Aid available

FEMA to provide individual aid to Louisiana residents of several parishes. The assistance includes grants for disaster-related expenses and can also include:

Rental payments for up to three months for those whose homes are unlivable.

Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance.

Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits.

Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; advisory assistance for legal matters and for veterans and Social Security benefits.

Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Newstex ID: KRTB-0070-27878258