Millions who fled Rita told to halt return (AP) Updated: 2005-09-25 11:54
Some New Orleans residents who had evacuated to Houston because of Katrina
were forced to move again as Rita approached.
"We're tired of being pushed from place to place," said Cora Washington, 59,
as she and her family sat on cots in Texas A&M University's basketball arena
in College Station. "We want to try to go back to New Orleans and pick up the
pieces."
About 3 million people had fled a 500-mile stretch of the Texas-Louisiana
coast ahead of Rita. The mass exodus produced gridlock and heartbreak; a bus of
evacuees caught fire south of Dallas while stick in traffic, killing as many as
24 nursing home residents.
Though Houston authorities urged residents not to rush home to a city lacking
many essential services, inbound roads were already clogging Saturday afternoon.
Most stores in Houston were closed, bank machines had no cash, and police were
controlling the long lines at the few open gas stations.
"Frankly the fuel is not going to come as quickly as
those here might like and those traveling might like," said U.S. Rep. Sheila
Jackson-Lee, D-Houston.
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