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Lines form at shelters ahead of Irma; 75K taking refuge

By JAY REEVES, TERRY SPENCER and CLAIRE GALOFARO, Associated Press
Published: September 9, 2017, 10:19pm
6 Photos
Yameleth Georges, 5, sits on a curb as her family lines up with evacuees to enter the Germain Arena, which is being used as a shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla.
Yameleth Georges, 5, sits on a curb as her family lines up with evacuees to enter the Germain Arena, which is being used as a shelter, in advance of Hurricane Irma, in Estero, Fla. Gerald Herbert/Associated Press Photo Gallery

ESTERO, Fla. — With Hurricane Irma taking aim at Florida’s southwestern coast, thousands of desperate and frustrated people waited in line for hours Saturday to get inside a shelter — a minor league hockey arena — in hopes of avoiding the storm’s wrath.

Dogs barked and children cried in a line that wrapped halfway around the 8,400-seat Germain Arena before snaking through the parking lot. Ambulance sirens drowned out the chatter as medics assisted people overcome by the 84-degree heat.

More than 75,000 people statewide sought refuge at over 400 shelters, mostly schools, community centers and churches, but few if any scenes matched what happened just outside the city of Naples. A westward shift of the eye’s projected path put the area in Irma’s crosshairs, sending residents in low-lying and other vulnerable communities scrambling to find safety.

Christy Duda shook her head while looking at the line. Accompanied by her husband, two children, her parents and three dogs, she was worried about getting inside before the rain started. The brunt of the storm was expected by Sunday.

Only two doors of the arena were open, causing a massive bottleneck.

“There has to be a better way,” said Duda, of Fort Myers. “It’s an emergency, and it’s taking this long to get in?”

The rain began falling and officials opened all the doors, filling the arena.

Gov. Rick Scott said the state needed 1,000 nurses to volunteer at the shelters

In Miami-Dade County, authorities had told the homeless on Friday they could voluntarily go to shelters or they would be committed to mental hospitals. At least six were committed after refusing help.

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