By Scott Harvey
Commerce – Little damage was reported in Northeast Texas as the remnants of Hurricane Ike pushed through the region Saturday.
What was seen was hundreds of evacuees to the area, who were forced from their homes and seeking shelter due to the storm.
Both the City of Commerce and Texas A&M University-Commerce is currently housing roughly 175 evacuees at the Commerce Middle School and Berry Hall on the A&M-Commerce campus.
According to Safety Manager at A&M-Commerce Derek Preas, the State of Texas is working toward organizing and moving evacuees to shelters closer to their homes. There is currently no timeline on when that may occur.
Preas says evacuees are being given the opportunity to search the internet to locate other shelters in the state, as well as seek stories that relate to their homes and possible damage sustained.
With evacuees taking shelter in Commerce no more than two weeks ago because of Hurricane Gustav, shelter were already situated with the necessary items to assist those individuals. That gave the City and the University a chance to be one of the first areas in the region to help those impacted by Hurricane Ike.
Roughly 40 people from Louisiana stayed in Commerce during Hurricane Gustav.