Its glory days past, stadium becomes high-tech shelter

HOUSTON -- The Astrodome, abandoned as a pro sports stadium in 2000, has been converted into a makeshift village with cots on the former playing surface, a medical clinic, and computer technology for exhausted evacuees from New Orleans.

For security reasons, all evacuees were being patted down for drugs and weapons before they entered yesterday.

Inside, the atmosphere was calm as children wearing yellow shirts purchased by the county and the Red Cross played ball along the concrete floor. Meanwhile, seniors, looking worn out, rested on the cots.

Unlike the Superdome in New Orleans, where thousands of evacuees took shelter during Hurricane Katrina, the Astrodome's evacuees will be issued passes and wristbands that will allow them to leave, take free rides on the city's light-rail trains, and return as they please, according to Lisa Hutchinson, a Red Cross spokeswoman.

By early last night, 4,000 evacuees had arrived out of the 25,000 expected to temporarily stay in a stadium once known as the ''Eighth Wonder of the World."

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said children will be welcomed in the local schools to bring a bit of normalcy to their lives. He assured local residents that little of the cost of taking in so many people would be assumed by taxpayers because the federal government will reimburse the county.

Officials and volunteers worked quickly to make evacuees feel comfortable, hooking up televisions and opening telephone lines to allow each person 10 minutes of free calls. A Houston nonprofit organization is expected to set up 40 desktop computers with Internet connections. The first evacuees to arrive in the morning were served a meal of scrambled eggs, biscuits, and orange juice.

Although authorities said they have yet to create an official registration process, medical personnel were checking the new arrivals, trying to prevent the spread of diseases and to stabilize people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or other medical problems, said Dr. Herminia Polacio, a Harris County public health official.

With just a day to prepare, officials seemed wary and confused as they tried to figure out how to handle so many evacuees in one place, prevent the spread of diseases, provide for known medical needs, and accommodate so many people in the showers of four locker rooms once used by the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers.

One evacuee said he showered with 15 other men but did not worry about privacy since he had not bathed since Katrina struck Monday. The Oilers have moved to Tennessee, and the Astros play in a new ballpark within walking distance of the Astrodome.

Eckels said most of the people arriving at the Astrodome will come from the Superdome, but he acknowledged the relaxation of a previously announced rule that only those evacuees would be allowed.

Some had come on their own and were allowed inside.

Officials were not sure how long families would stay, but Eckels emphasized that the Astrodome was not made for long-term use as a shelter.

Material from the Associated Press was used for this report.