From Deseret News archives:
Storm refugees coming to Utah
The state is one of four that were asked by officials in Louisiana and Mississippi, the states hardest hit by the Class 5 hurricane, to accept the homeless families and individuals for an unknown period of time. Tennessee, Texas and Oklahoma will also house refugees.
"I think that says something good about our state that we would instinctively rise to the top of that list," Huntsman said.
It isn't clear when residents from the affected Gulf Coast states will arrive in Utah, where they will be housed in an overflow winter homeless shelter in Midvale and a military installation such as Camp Williams, a training facility operated by the Utah National Guard south of Salt Lake City. The facility can lodge up to 2,800 troops. The Midvale shelter can accommodate 100 families and up to 300 individuals.
Additionally, as many as 250 Utah National Guardsmen stand ready to be dispatched within hours to help out in the disaster zone if they're needed, Gen. Bruce Frandsen said. However, no specific request had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, he said.
The Guard will also assist with transporting refugees to Utah by air as necessary, Frandsen said.
People could begin arriving in Utah as early as today, Huntsman said. While welcoming so many new residents in such a short period of time is difficult, the governor said he believes it can be done.
"First and foremost, we need to find shelter, we need to find food," he said. "The longer-term issues, I think, will sort themselves out."
The support of Utah citizens will be vital in making the situation work, community advocate Pamela Atkinson said Wednesday. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has already agreed to mobilize its members to provide meals for the displaced refugees, Atkinson said, and clothing drives will also be important.
"We have a feeling that most people will arrive in what they're standing in," she said.
Organization of volunteer efforts are under way, and Atkinson said Utahns should await word from the governor's office as to where and when to donate their time and possessions. Meanwhile, Huntsman urged people wanting to give monetary donations to do so through the American Red Cross.
Each person who arrives in Utah will receive a health screening, said state Department of Health director Dr. David Sundwall. The department is coordinating efforts with the U.S. surgeon general to provide assistance as needed, he said.
"There's a whole range of expertise that's very much needed in the Gulf states, it's not just doctors and nurses," Sundwall said.
Health catastrophe
