Shelters Fill Across the South as Gustav Evacuees Wait

SHREVEPORT, La. - From Baton Rouge to Memphis, thousands of Gulf Coast residents settled onto cots in school gyms and convention halls Sunday, passing the hours with cards, cell phones and the Weather Channel as Gustav churned toward home.

The Red Cross said it had opened or was preparing more than 100 shelters across six states, its largest mobilization since the 2005 hurricane season.

At the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, volunteers handed out sandwiches and juice boxes to families who arrived on chartered buses from New Orleans. A line of ambulances idled outside the medical shelter next door.

"Everybody here remembers what happened at the Superdome," said a Red Cross supervisor. "The goal is simple: nobody should ever have to shelter like that again."

For children, volunteers set up play corners with donated toys. For adults, the day passed in a ritual familiar to Gulf Coasters: watching the storm track update every three hours and calling relatives to compare evacuation notes.

Some shelters accepted pets this time — a change written into federal law after Katrina, when many residents refused to leave because they could not bring their animals.

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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