Shelters drawing hundreds of evacuees, but churches, families pitching in

Fleeing Savannah Friday morning ahead of Hurricane Matthew, Jodi Frazier took a wrong turn that couldn’t have been more right.

“I was looking for the Red Roof Inn to see if there were rooms, and I came too far down this road and just found it,” Frazier said before she, her mother and 9-year-old daughter picked out cots in the gym at the East Macon Recreation Center. “I was going to stop at a truck stop, but it was closed down. I figured if worse comes to worst, we’ll stay in the car. … We were just real fortunate.”

Since the shelter opened Thursday night, more than 70 people had signed up to stay there.

The Fraziers moved to Savannah from Cincinnati, Ohio, a little more than a year ago, and Matthew is their first hurricane experience.

“I’m scared to see what my house is going to look like when I get home,” Frazier, 41, said.

While the Fraziers were uncertain of their plans, most of the folks who’ve come to the shelter have been leaving to go out and about during the day, American Red Cross volunteer Jerry Newton said.

Many restaurants across town have seen a huge surge in business as evacuees stopped in from the road.

Ben Cook, operations manager at the Outback Steakhouse on Arkwright Road, was among them.

Evacuees from North and South Carolina began coming in by midweek, and Florida and Georgia coastal residents soon followed suit, he said.

Cook said he was able to order more food quickly and get it off delivery trucks to meet the need.

“It’s been incredibly busy,” he said. “It’s really been a boon to our business.”

Across Middle Georgia, churches, schools, families, businesses and more have taken action to help and deal with the surge of visitors.

Andrew United Methodist Church in Kathleen opened up as a shelter, able to handle up to 50 evacuees.

About seven people were at the church Friday afternoon, but more were expected as shelters and hotels filled, church member Christina Peek said.

The church had received calls from Dublin and Perry, among others, on Friday asking about space.

The church was making Sunday school rooms and other areas of the church available so that evacuees would have private areas to stay, she said. The church was providing cots, pillows, blankets, showers, laundry service and food on site. Peek said visitors would be welcome to stay for several days.

“We’re willing to make it work,” she said.

Bradley Baptist Church in Gray put out the call for water and snacks earlier this week, and it collected at least 75 cases of water. Friday afternoon, much of the church’s front lobby was filled with snack donations for evacuees, said Patsy Zanders, the church’s secretary.

“It’s still coming in,” she said.

The church planned to drop off the supplies to the Red Cross later Friday afternoon.

When Heidi Thompson of Vero Beach, Florida, got the order to evacuate, she knew just who to call.

Karen Hatten of Fort Valley had hosted Thompson when she and her family were in town in July for a barrel racing contest at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.

Karen graciously agreed to make room for Thompson, who with two friends, loaded up their seven children and 14 horses. Thompson asked Karen if she had room for more. In all, 20 people and 40 horses found a temporary home in Fort Valley, Thompson said.

The Hattens provided use of a cabin, horse trailer with living quarters as well as a FEMA trailer, Thompson said. With Thompson’s RV and another friend’s horse trailer, the visitors are feeling at home.

‘LIKE SOME APOCALYPSE MOVIE STUFF’

The American Red Cross shelter at North Macon Park was nearly filled to capacity Friday afternoon with about 168 folks staying on cots, Macon-Bibb County spokesman Chris Floore said.

Alicia Christian, 20, traveled from Hinesville to the north Macon shelter with her white dog, Chase, on Friday.

“This was the only pet-friendly shelter I could really find. … I’m not separating from my baby,” Christian said, adding that she found out about the spot online.

About a dozen dogs were being sheltered in cages beneath a tent outside the North Macon Park building.

Sonja Adams, director of Macon-Bibb Animal Welfare, said dogs aren’t the only animals welcome at the shelter.

“Snakes, rabbits, cats, whatever. Whatever they have, we’ll take it,” Adams said.

Christian, a sales supervisor at a retail store, said she’s worried for her mother and others who decided to stay and ride out the storm.

Seeing the hurricane on Doppler radar, Christian said she didn’t think it would be that bad.

“At Wal-Mart, the entire aisles were cleared. The whole bread aisle, their shelves were empty,” Christian said. “All the stores on the road are being boarded up. … Gas stations are running out of gas.

“It’s like some apocalypse movie stuff. Like, ‘OK. Now, it’s kind of scary.’”

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Shelters drawing hundreds of evacuees, but churches, families pitching in."