Ike Survivors May Wait Weeks for Hot Meals, Baths

More relief was on the way for Hurricane Ike evacuees today as tens of thousands waited for supplies, the electricity to return to their homes, or their first hot meal and shower. The number of distribution centers was to be quadrupled to 60 by the end of the day to deliver food, water and ice. "A good bath would be nice: have the fire department swing by and spray us down," said one Galveston resident.

The wait for a return to normalcy could be weeks. Many service stations have no gasoline, and some major highways remain under water. More than 30,000 evacuees are still living in nearly 300 public shelters, and roughly 2 million people in Texas alone are without power. Many just want a bath. Says one evacuee, "Have the fire department spray us down."
(More Hurricane Ike stories.)