President Bush surveys Hurricane Ike damage
He arrives in southeast Texas as long lines of people seek water, ice and food at FEMA centers
HOUSTON -- President Bush arrived in storm-ravaged southeast Texas this morning, as testy residents waited in long lines outside FEMA supply centers across the city and rescue crews began to scour the Bolivar Peninsula for survivors who rode through Hurricane Ike.
As the president prepared to tour the area by air, he tried to console residents that the federal government would aid them in their time of need.
"My message will be that we hear you, and we'll work as hard and fast as we can to help you get your lives back up to normal," Bush told reporters.
In Galveston, city leaders continued to urge residents to leave the area -- and to encourage those who fled in the face of the storm to stay away. There aren't basic utilities or clean drinking water to provide for the 15,000 to 20,000 people who are believed to have stayed on the island, City Manager Steve LeBlanc said Monday.
At least 11 people were removed from the city's Flagship Hotel, which sits on a pier and was closed because of concerns over its structural integrity. The storm also tore off a chunk of the hotel's back wall, exposing at least two floors to the elements.
State officials said that along the Bolivar Peninsula, northeast of Galveston, search teams have evacuated at least two people and their pets from Crystal Beach so far, and have reached High Island, where a reported 120 people refused to leave before the hurricane -- a stance that had Gov. Rick Perry angrily calling them "knuckleheads" for not heeding last week's mandatory evacuation orders.
Thousands of people are still in shelters -- many in the Austin and San Antonio areas -- and have no idea what they will return to or when they will be able to get home.
Others expected to spend much of this week waiting in line for water, ice and food: Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said this morning that the agency had already handed out 1.5 million meals ready to eat (MREs) and 1.6 million pounds of ice.
But there were signs that Houston, at least, was slowly coming back to life. Some neighborhoods are simply taking care of each other, rather than turning to outside help.
When Randy Goff's neighbors across the street got their power turned back on, they were happy to share.
"We got an extension cord, ran it up a tree 30 feet in the air, pulled it across the road and into my house," said Goff, 19, a waiter who lives in northwest Houston. "It's enough to run a fan and charge my cellphone. Considering they're saying it's going to be three weeks before the power's back on in my house, that power cord is priceless."
