The Department of Children and Family Services has opened the reception center at the Alexandria MegaShelter for Hurricane Laura evacuees. DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says the MegaShelter serves as a centralized location to route evacuees to available lodging at a hotel.
“Should the hotels get overrun, like they have for the past several nights, we’ll be able to keep you safe there, give you a place to stay where it’s air-conditioned and there is food,” said Walters.
The reception center is currently open 24/7 helping evacuees find non-congregate shelter.
Walters says they’ve got just over 10,000 evacuees in hotels in Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.
“Almost 10,000 of them are in New Orleans. We have 43 hotels, 32 of which are in New Orleans,” said Walters.
Walters says about 11,000 evacuees are in hotels in Texas and believes a majority of them are Louisiana residents, but there isn’t a clear indication of what that number is.
Walters says if transportation to Alexandria and then to a hotel is an issue, they have that covered.
“We are picking up people still in Lake Charles and bringing them by bus to the shelter to get them stable, give them a little bit of respite, and then getting them on the bus to New Orleans,” said Walters.
For more information on sheltering text LAShelter to 898-211 or call 2-1-1.
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