Shreveport Hurricane Shelter Now Housing Nearly 1,000 People

As Hurricane Ida roared ashore on August 29 in south Louisiana, thousands of folks fled to other locations to get out of harms way. A shelter was opened inside the old Sams Club store on Jewella in Shreveport. About 140 people showed up to stay in that shelter.

But that population has ballooned up to more than 900 over the past few days as more residents flee to better conditions. Hundreds of thousands in the southern part of the state are still without power. Another big problem is supplies. Gas is limited and many grocery stores are either closed or have nearly empty shelves.

The shelter on Jewella could be getting even more evacuees as we head into this new week.

Just after the Hurricane hit the state, more than 1 million customers were left in the dark. Most of the power has been restored in Baton Rouge and about 70% of the greater New Orleans area has power. But there are still about 400,000 people across the southern parishes still without power.