UPDATE: Louisianians hunker down in Arkansas

By The Associated Press

Waves of Louisiana residents arrived Sunday in Arkansas to medical aid, housing, and meals as Hurricane Gustav threatened a repeat of the deadly hurricanes three years ago.

By Sunday night, nearly 2,000 people, most from the New Orleans area, had been processed and were relaxing in air-conditioned barracks at Fort Chaffee in west Arkansas. The last two planes of evacuees had landed since the government operation began the previous day, but more buses were to arrive at intervals into Monday, Maj. Keith Moore said.

The old army post expected to house as many as 4,000 evacuees by the end of the operation, and could accommodate another 2,000 although those would not have the luxury of air conditioning, Capt. Chris Heathscott of the Arkansas National Guard said.

By Sunday evening, 974 people were off the roads and in shelters in Arkansas after driving long hours in bumper-to-bumper interstate traffic. Trying to make the most of it, they shared meals and space with strangers while they awaited Gustav to strike. Forecasters expected the storm to hit Monday.

"I don't know how long we'll have to stay up here," a tired Harvey Trahan of Houma, La., said in a telephone interview from a shelter in Lake Village. "We have a corner. We've got cots. They've got us well taken care of. They furnished us with blankets, towels, everything."

Trahan, 58, traveled in a group of 12 family members, including four children, Trahan's sister, and his older brother. "He's 73. He just got out of the hospital so we didn't want to leave him behind," Trahan said. "So we loaded him up in the car, too."

The group started out Saturday morning in one car and two vans, but didn't reach south Arkansas on the border with Louisiana until more than 24 hours later. Trahan said every hotel and motel was booked but they finally found their spot at the shelter.

"We really appreciate everything they've done for us," he said.

The children had games and coloring books to pass the time, and another shelter resident was setting up a big-screen TV he'd brought from home and planned to share with others, Trahan said.

The state emergency center in North Little Rock was operating at its highest level, spokesman Tommy Jackson of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said. Two 12-hour shifts of 35 workers each addressed requests coming in from around the state for cots, food, water or medical care.

A patient needing kidney dialysis, an expectant mother, and others needing critical care who were moved from Louisiana hospitals all needed attention when they arrived. The center set up a hotline to help people locate family members brought to Arkansas hospitals.

"Life has been interrupted in mid-stride but health concerns go on," said Ed Barham, a spokesman for the Arkansas Health Department who was at the emergency center Sunday.

St. Vincent hospitals in Little Rock and Sherwood admitted 14 patients, including two pregnant women, hospital spokeswoman Margaret Preston said.

Weather forecasters said southern Arkansas also should catch some heavy rains from Gustav. They predicted rainfall of six to 12 inches through Wednesday morning, and said as much as 20 inches in isolated places was possible.

On the heels of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita was the last tropical storm to bring significant rain to the state - some three to six inches - after the storm made landfall near the Texas and Louisiana border Sept. 24, 2005.

At Fort Chaffee, the Salvation Army provided hot meals, starting with breakfast at 6 a.m., and residents had hot showers and a safe, clean place to stay.

"Feeding, bedding, all that so far is working well," Maj. Keith Moore said. "Of course, if you ride the bus for 10 hours from Louisiana, you're not exactly a happy camper. But we're doing the best we can to make them comfortable."

A number of shelters have opened in Arkansas to house people evacuating Louisiana due to Hurricane Gustav. The state has opened Fort Chaffee, but that shelter is open only to those being brought in by authorities.

Shelters open in Arkansas:

Clark County

Arkadelphia Recreation Center

Conway County

Lutheran Camp 15 RV sites; 20 lodging spaces in Morrilton

Petit Jean State Park-18 RV camp sites near Morrilton

KOA Morrilton 17 tent camp sites; 1 RV site

Lewisburg Bay RV Park4 RV camp sites

Camp Mitchell 160 beds in Morrilton

Ozark Conference Center at Solgohachia, Ar13 RV/camp sites and 125 beds

Drew County

Shady Grove Baptist Church in Monticello (already reserved by campers)

First Assembly of God in Monticello (already reserved by campers)

Faulkner County

Don Owens Center in Conway, capacity 400

Pulaski County

Pleasant Valley Church of Christ (opening 2 p.m. Sunday)

Union County

College Avenue Church of Christ in El Dorado, capacity 75 people, showers

First United Methodist Church in El Dorado, capacity 50 people, showers

Immanuel Baptist Church in El Dorado, capacity 75 people, showers

St. John's Baptist Church in El Dorado, capacity 50 people, showers

Stay with ArkansasOnline for more on this developing story.

The American Red Cross Safe and Well list at disastersafe.redcross.org allows evacuees to list themselves as safe and well and locate family members and friends.