The Inquirer reports that many evacuees slated to arrive in Philadelphia yesterday never came:
Flights carrying the people were supposed to land about 1 p.m., but by 6:30 p.m., they were canceled because the evacuees expressed a desire to stay where they were, according to Adrian King, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
"What we were told today around 5:30 was that the flights were going to stop," King said. "The primary reason they were canceled was because the evacuees were not ready to move to a secondary evacuation site."
As of last evening, FEMA had no plans to transport evacuees from Houston shelters to facilities in other cities, said Mary Louise Powell, an assistant to the agency's Houston liaison.
She cautioned, however, that the situation could change from day to day.
Agency officials have said their priority was to find housing in the Houston area or to help people return to Louisiana.
"People need time right now. They came from a very terrible situation. Now they are in a place that is safe, that is dry, and most of their immediate needs are being met," said Ed Conley, FEMA liaison to the Houston shelters.
The Daily News report on the same story can be found here; it includes information on one New Orleans family that has taken refuge in a Philadelphia shelter.
The offer is there, and the shelters are ready for those who want to use them. But I can't blame people for feeling that they've been uprooted enough over the past week. The thought of relocating halfway across the country has got to be disconcerting for many survivors of the storm.
When and if they do arrive, what can they expect to find? At All Spin Zone, SpinDentist reports on a peek inside the shelter at the Wanamaker School:
It was chaos, and controlled to the extent that Philadelphia chaos often is. Patronage has to be attended to, after all, and with any event there has to be adequate minority representation among vendors and the like. Oh, I'm as liberal as I seem, and I believe in a certain amount of supporting minority vendors, but sometimes in Philadelphia it goes to far. Two words: Milton Street. But I digress. There were signs of Philadelphia innefficiency everywhere, but the bedrooms were ready, beds made, privacy curtains up and even the showers were sparkling. Curtis Thomas' son was beaming that he had taken a role in getting the school ready for the evacuees, and he was right to be proud. Heck, I was a bit proud of my city.
some have arrived
35 arrived today.