Hundreds of coastal evacuees flock to San Antonio shelters

Shelter residents happy for hospitality

SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of people running from the potential wrath of Hurricane Harvey are finding shelter in San Antonio.

The city of San Antonio has opened up several shelters, including one on the grounds of what used to be Kazen Middle School.

As of early Friday morning, about 150 people had moved in, according to a San Antonio police sergeant who was helping provide security.

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All of the evacuees arrived in the middle of the night, some on buses and others in their own vehicles.

William Dunham said with the heavy traffic, it took him four hours to drive to San Antonio from Port Aransas.

He was pleasantly surprised by what he found when he arrived at the shelter.

"It's set up with bunks, similar to how (Hurricane) Katrina was," he said. "They're very nice, very hospitable. It's better than that bus."

Dunham made the trip with his 83 year old mother and their dog. 

They were able to leave the animal at a separate shelter set up for pets.

Justine Vela had a lot more company than that during her trek from Corpus Christi. Ten members of her family all piled into her sister's sedan.

RELATED: List of local school closures, delays due to Hurricane Harvey

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"We came really slowly, you know what I mean," Vela said. "We were safe."

She said she fears they would have been in more danger had they tried to ride out the hurricane at home.

Based on what many evacuees said, it appears there were some lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.

Everyone staying in the shelters is required to go through a check-in process first. 

At the registration center, they're all given bracelets with barcodes that contain personal information, such as their names.

The information can be used to help people locate other family members who may have become separated from them.

Check out the latest satellite image and find out where Harvey is headed:

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About the Authors

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

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