JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
Jackson's largest storm shelter closed Saturday morning, after a week of housing roughly 200 people who evacuated areas threatened by Hurricane Isaac. Red Cross volunteers say the number of people at the shelter fluctuated.
"I think we had about 81 left last night when we did the last count. Most of them left this morning," says Shelter Manager Ziada Zonia.
The Red Cross shelter at New Horizon Church International on Belvedere Drive is still open. Managers aren't sure when it will close.
"We still have four families. One of 12, one of 5, one individual, and one of 3," says Shelter Manager Pauline Rogers.
At its peak, the New Horizon shelter held 40 evacuees.
"The first family that left was from Gulfport, which I thought would be the worst area," Rogers says.
But the remaining families tell us that areas of Louisiana, as well as Mississippi, are still without utilities.
Three week old Brayden Miles is part of the family of 12 from Reserve, Louisiana.
"He's been good, just a little fussy. Out of his normal routine," says his mom, Brandy Miles. "I've been talking to some people back home. They still haven't got the power and water back up, so they don't know how long it's gonna be. I guess we'll stay here until that returns," she says.
Dominiqueka Horton, her mother, and her children evacuated from New Orleans to Grenada. But on the way home Friday, they heard living is still hard in The Big Easy.
"My kids have asthma and everything. We're just gonna stay out of town. The air. We don't have to go back and suffer and everything," Horton says.
According to the Red Cross of Mississippi website, on Friday, around two dozen Red Cross shelters in Mississippi remained open. That number had dwindled down to 11 by Saturday afternoon.
Copyright 2012 WLBT. All rights reserved.
WLBT 3 - Fox 40
