NewsLocal NewsIn Your NeighborhoodMcLennan County

Actions

Hurricane Laura evacuees seek shelter in Waco

Laura expected to 'rapidly strengthen' to Category 4 hurricane, winds up to 110 mph, NHC says
Posted at 12:09 PM, Aug 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-27 13:19:07-04

WACO, TX — Hurricane evacuees are rolling into Central Texas.

Salma Castillo and her family spent their first night Tuesday in a Waco hotel evacuating from Beaumont.

"The trip is like a four-hour trip but it took us like 6 or 7 hours. There was so much traffic," said Castillo.

A caravan of five cars and 17 people in her family reached Waco where her cousin lives. But the family has no way of knowing what they'll return to by the end of the week.

"You never know if there's going to be flooding. The wind. Just my thoughts and prayers and hope for the best," she said.

The mandatory evacuation order came Monday night with little time to prepare. The Castillos remember Harvey and didn't want a repeat.

"For Harvey, it flooded really bad and we didn't have water. The power was out. So for the people that stayed behind I'm surprised they would choose to stay," said Castillo.

Wacoan Lakita Evans is worried too.

"Yesterday I was stressed out. Literally stressed out," said Evans, the owner of Fat Ho Burgers Food Truck in Waco.

Her food truck is stuck in North Houston where a company just remodeled the kitchen.

"Everything I've done has been out of my pockets. No loans. No assistance. So I'm like yeah," she said.

Insurance may cover damages to the contents but not the actual truck because of its age.

"If the truck gets flooded out, it's all on me financially," said Evans.

Just like the rest of Texas, she'll watch and wait.