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US government is unlikely to meet its shelter target

Three days before the US government's self-imposed deadline for emptying shelters of all the Hurricane Katrina victims, more than 22,000 people are still waiting to get out, the head of the relief effort said on Wednesday.

The number of people in shelters across the whole country peaked at more than 270,000 on Sept. 8, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen said. President George W. Bush set a mid-October goal for getting everyone out, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had been aiming for Oct. 15.

It's now doubtful that that deadline will be met, in part because Hurricane Rita swept the region just days after Katrina, Allen said.

He stressed that nobody would be forced out of any shelter on Saturday. In the meantime, staff from FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration will visit the remaining evacuees to help them find more permanent housing, he said.

"We are on track to get all of the Katrina evacuees out of temporary shelters, into a more permanent housing solution, pending their long-term housing goals," Allen said. "We think we're on the right path, we're headed that way."

Long-term temporary housing still must be found for at least 400,000 other Katrina victims now living in hotels or with friends or family. FEMA is working to put them in travel trailers, mobile homes or apartments until they find permanent homes.

"Right now, being in a shelter or being in a hotel is somewhat a bridge to nowhere," Allen said.

As of Wednesday, the American Red Cross had 161 shelters for hurricane victims housing 17,837 people, most of them in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Millian.

"As long as there's a need for emergency shelters, we're there to provide them," Millian said.
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