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.