Photos: Astrodome welcomes thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees

Dave Einsel

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 4: An evacuee surveys the floor of the Reliant Astrodome September 4, 2005 in Houston, Texas. There are currently about 16,000 evacuees staying in the shelter. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

Dave Einsel

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 2: Evacuees crowd the floor of the Reliant Astrodome September 2, 2005 in Houston, Texas. The facility is being used to house 15,000 refugees who fled the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A crowd of Hurricane Katrina evacuees line up to receive a debit card from the Red Cross, 08 September, 2005, outside the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas with the Astrodome in the background. Evacuees were given the card with approximately $1,500 USD. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees crowd the fiels at the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas, 09 September, 2005. Police closed off the Astrodome stadium in Houston as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD. The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their beds Sept. 9, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadim in Houston, Texas.

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee from New Orleans Althiya William reads the Houston map as she looks for the location of her future new house, as she sits on her bed 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas. Police on 08 September, closed off the Astrodome stadium as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD.The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Toryant Price, age 4, plays with her doll as she sits in a shopping cart 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Some 2243 evacuees' have taken shelter in the Astrodome. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on 09 September began distributing 2,000 USD in financial aid -- in the form of bank cards, checks and bank deposits -- to victims of Hurricane Katrina who were evacuated to Texas. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina survivor Dorejah Mills gets dressed with help from her grandmother 09 September, 2005, on the field of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Police on Thursday closed off the Astrodome as word spread among Hurricane Katrina refugees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD. The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. The 8,600 evacuees in the Astrodome stadium and surrounding park were the first to get the financial lifeline intended to help them buy essential items. But thousands from other emergency shelters joined the queues for the cards that built up outside the Red Cross office and police sealed off the stadium complex. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees crowd the fiels at the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas, 09 September, 2005. Police closed off the Astrodome stadium in Houston as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD. The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Raxnette Tamya combs the hair of her daughter as they sit on their bed 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas. Police on 08 September, closed off the Astrodome stadium as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD. The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their bed 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas. Police on 08 September, closed off the Astrodome stadium in Houston as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD.The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their bed 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas.Police on Thursday closed off the Astrodome stadium in Houston as word spread among Hurricane Katrina evacuees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD.The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

MENAHEM KAHANA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on their bed 09 September 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome stadium in Houston, Texas. Police on 08 September closed off the Astrodome stadium in Houston as word spread among Hurricane Katrina refugees that the American Red Cross was giving handouts of up to 2,000 USD. The money was given as credits on a debit card that can be used in stores or to get cash from automatic dispensers. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Georgia Carroll looks for Hurricane Katrina evacuees who might be Home Depot employees who can begin work in area stores 07 September 2005 outside the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Dave Einsel, Getty Images

A man eats his lunch on the floor of the Reliant Astrodome as fellow refugees pass by September 3, 2005 in Houston, Texas.

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A child evacuated as a result of Hurricane Katrina sleeps on a cot, 06 September, 2005, in a hallway of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A Red Cross worker (R, standing) talks to Hurricane Katrina evacuees, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Signs point Hurricane Katrina evacuees to an entrance at the Astrodome, 06 September, 2005, in Houston, Texas. The people were evacuated from the Superdome in New Orleans. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Nale Jackson (R) sits as her mother Kim White (L) speaks with a Red Cross chaplain (2nd L) who did not want to be identified, as nurse Sherri Locke from Wichita, Kansas (2nd R) plays with White's other child Jai'Lynn Butler, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

OMAR TORRES

Houston, UNITED STATES: A man reads the newspaper inside the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, 03 september, 2005. Between 10,000 and 11,000 New Orleans residents victims of Hurricane Katrina have found shelter in the Astrodome before it was closed to news arrivals late 01 September, American Red Cross officials said. New arrivals are being sent to other shelters in the Houston area and two other Texas cities, Dallas and San Antonio. AFP PHOTO/ Omar TORRES (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A Hurricane Katrina evacuee sleeps, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Dave Einsel

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 4: Judy Grimes of New Orleans, Louisiana cries as she pleads for help to find lost family members in the Reliant Center which is located near the Astrodome September 4, 2005 in Houston, Texas. There are currently about 4,000 evacuees staying in the shelter. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

ROBERT SULLIVAN

Soldiers watch people boarding buses near the Superdome in New Orleans 01 September, 2005, as they begin leaving the arena to be brought to the Astrodome in Houston and other locations. New Orleans on Thursday made a "desperate SOS" for help as authorities struggled to stem a descent into anarchy and evacuate survivors of Hurricane Katrine which is now believed to have killed thousands. Some 4,000 National Guard troops fought an uphill battle to restore order to the largely submerged jazz mecca plagued by gunbattles, fistfights, gangs of roving thugs, looters and carjackers. AFP PHOTO/Robert SULLIVAN (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Charlie Gautreau drinks Gatorade while standing next to his family's belongings, 06 September, 2005, outside the Astrodome, in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Dave Einsel

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 2: Volunteers prepare for an expected 8,000 refugees at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston September 2, 2005 in Houston, Texas. Houston Mayor Bill White cleared the convention center schedule because the Reliant Astrodome is filled to capacity with victims from Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Joseph Foster (L) holds Cedric Wright as he and friends wait for supplies, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

OMAR TORRES

Houston, UNITED STATES: A child, fleeing the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, sleeps 03 September, 2005, at a new shelter opened at the Astrodome complex in Houston, Texas. Between 10,000 and 11,000 New Orleans residents have found shelter in the Astrodome before it was closed to news arrivals late Thursday, American Red Cross officials said. New arrivals are being sent to other shelters in the Houston area and two other Texas cities, Dallas and San Antonio. AFP PHOTO/ Omar TORRES (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

JIM WATSON

New Orleans, UNITED STATES: A military Chinook helicopter takes off 02 September 2005 from the Superdome in New Orleans, LA, as a convoy arrives to evacuate locals to the Houston Astrodome. US President George W. Bush, on a day-long visit to the battered states of Alabama, Mississippi and the flooded and lawless city of New Orleans, Louisiana, said the region seemed to have been "obliterated by the worst kind of weapon you can imagine." AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Kim White (L) speaks with a Red Cross chaplain (2nd L) who did not want to be identified and nurse Sherri Locke from Wichita, Kansas (2nd R) with White's other child Jai'Lynn Butler (R), 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees, 06 September, 2005, are shown on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. US President George W. Bush said 06 September,he would investigate "what went wrong" with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, but he refused to say whether he would fire any aides involved. "What I intend to do is to lead an investigation to find out what went right and what went wrong," he said after a cabinet meeting, noting that the response to Katrina boded ill for any response to a terrorist attack in the future. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee line up at a temporary post office to file change of address forms, 06 September, 2005, outside the Astrodome, in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A man wears a "Be Strong" t-shirt under a message board for Hurricane Katrina evacuees who are trying to find family or friends, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees use telephones set up by Southwestern Bell to make free phone calls, 06 September 2005 outside the Astrodome, in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

OMAR TORRES

Houston, UNITED STATES: Thousands of evacuees of Hurricane Katrina fill the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, 03 september 2005. Between 10,000 and 11,000 New Orleans residents victims of Hurricane Katrina have found shelter in the Astrodome before it was closed to news arrivals late 01 September, American Red Cross officials said. New arrivals are being sent to other shelters in the Houston area and two other Texas cities, Dallas and San Antonio. AFP PHOTO/ Omar TORRES (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

Dave Einsel

HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 4: Red Cross volunteers help register evacuees in the Reliant Center which is located near the Astrodome September 4, 2005 in Houston, Texas. There are currently about 4,000 evacuees staying in the shelter. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: The message board for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, 06 September, 2005, are shown in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, where people can post information for lost family and friends. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuees sit on cots, 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

ROBERT SULLIVAN

New Orleans, UNITED STATES: Soldiers watch people boarding buses near the Superdome in New Orleans 01 September, 2005, as they begin leaving the arena to be brought to the Astrodome in Houston and other locations. New Orleans on Thursday made a "desperate SOS" for help as authorities struggled to stem a descent into anarchy and evacuate survivors of Hurricane Katrine which is now believed to have killed thousands. Some 4,000 National Guard troops fought an uphill battle to restore order to the largely submerged jazz mecca plagued by gunbattles, fistfights, gangs of roving thugs, looters and carjackers. AFP PHOTO/Robert SULLIVAN (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP/Getty Images)

OMAR TORRES

Houston, UNITED STATES: Laquisha Nelson, with daughter Nashone, from New Orleans reads inside a new shelter set up by authorities at the Astrodome sports complex in Houston, Texas, 03 September 2005. Between 10,000 and 11,000 New Orleans residents have found shelter in the Astrodome before it was closed to news arrivals late 01 September, American Red Cross officials said. New arrivals are being sent to other shelters in the Houston area and two other Texas cities, Dallas and San Antonio. AFP PHOTO/ Omar TORRES (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: Hurricane Katrina evacuee Kim White (L) speaks with a Red Cross chaplain (2nd L) who did not want to be identified, as nurse Sherri Locke from Wichita, Kansas (2nd R) plays withWhite's other child Jai'Lynn Butler (R), 06 September, 2005, on the floor of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

STAN HONDA

Houston, UNITED STATES: A Houston Police Department office provides security on horseback for Hurricane Katrina evacuees 06 September 2005 outside the Astrodome, in Houston, Texas. Evacuees number 16,000 in the Astrodome with an additional 9,800 in three additional Houston centers. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

OMAR TORRES

Houston, UNITED STATES: A woman writes a message looking for a relative on a makeshift bulletin board for Hurricane Katrina victims at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, 03 September 2005. Between 10,000 and 11,000 New Orleans residents victims of Hurricane Katrina have found shelter in the Astrodome before it was closed to news arrivals late 01 September, American Red Cross officials said. New arrivals are being sent to other shelters in the Houston area and two other Texas cities, Dallas and San Antonio. AFP PHOTO/ Omar TORRES (Photo credit should read OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images)

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