Galveston Looking To Provide Tent Shelters

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) – Some residents of Hurricane Ike-damaged Galveston will be staying in tents — for now.

City Manager Steve LeBlanc says Galveston has teamed with the American Red Cross to provide temporary shelter in tents on the grounds of a school no longer in use. The new shelter means housing for up to 500 people and will offer shower and bathroom facilities — plus meals.

Ike made landfall at Galveston on September 13th.

One shelter opened at a Galveston community centerWednesday — the day residents were allowed to return to the island and inspect their homes. But the shelter only had room for about 100 people and quickly filled.

Also:

— CenterPoint Energy says 78 percent of its 2.26 million customers in Southeast Texas now have electricity.

— Entergy Texas has completed its restoration efforts, with 385,300 customers affected by Ike once again with power. There are about 7,300 customers, many on the Bolivar Peninsula, that will require significant reconstruction before electricity is restored.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)