GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — One week after Hurricane Ike wiped out whole neighborhoods and nearly every basic service in Galveston, there is a plan to start letting some 45,000 evacuees back to their hobbled hometown. Those who left heeded dire warnings to flee. Now they’ve been given a new warning — going home won’t be easy. No power, limited sewer services and spotty water utilities are among the trials that city officials say could await residents when a gradual reopening of Galveston begins next week. “You will need to decide if you want to come back in those conditions,” city manager Steve LeBlanc said Friday. Residents will be allowed to return in phases.
Some Galveston residents given OK to return
September 20, 2008