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September 16, 2005
Evacuees register with FEMABy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In Las Vegas, Clark County officials opened the 7,000-square-foot Fertitta Community Assistance Center to provide social and other services to evacuees who arrived without assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In Reno, the Red Cross has opened a drop-in center to provide assistance to hurricane victims. FEMA spokesman William L. Rukeyser in Oakland, Calif., said as many as 500 other evacuees from the New Orleans area could be flown to Nevada on Monday. Reno could house up to 300 of them and Las Vegas 200. "The disaster victims already in Nevada got here using resources not provided by the government," Rukeyser said. "The ones (arriving) Monday will be flown at government expense." State and federal officials think Nevada's gambling industry and hot job market are luring some evacuees to the state. Rukeyser noted that thousands of people lost jobs when Mississippi casinos were destroyed by Katrina. "It's a very safe bet that some people who were employed by casinos or related industries would be looking either at temporary or permanent work in the industry in Nevada," he said. In Las Vegas, Clark County, Catholic Charities and various entities - including the American Red Cross, Clark County Social Service and the United Way of Southern Nevada - are providing assistance. About 190 people have been placed in long-term housing by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since Wednesday, the center has helped families register 55 children with the Clark County School District. Washoe County schools are preparing students and staff for the possible arrival of Katrina's youngest victims. Evacuee Mary Matyi, 46, of New Orleans has been staying with a friend in Reno since Sept. 1. She fled her home before the storm hit. Matyi, a painter, said she lost everything she owned. A neighbor e-mailed her pictures of her flooded house. "It's unreal. It's numbing, and I get disoriented when I look at it. It's still sinking in," Matyi told the Reno Gazette-Journal. She's hoping to land a job from a previous employer in Las Vegas. Rukeyser said many evacuees are reluctant to relocate so far away from home in Nevada and California. "We told your governor's office to be prepared to receive as many as 500 people if they are ready and willing to be flown out," Rukeyser said. "That (500) is the maximum and we may see less than that." A total of 506 Katrina refugees have registered so far in Nevada with FEMA - 421 from Louisiana, 83 from Mississippi and two from Alabama. |
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