(The Associated Press circulated the following on September 6.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Gulf Coast residents who took refuge from Hurricane Gustav in Tennessee are making their way back home.
About 100 government-assisted evacuees, which includes those with special needs, were set to leave the Memphis area by chartered bus on Saturday, while nearly 1,600 evacuees returned to the Gulf Coast by Amtrak trains Thursday and Friday.
Nearly 2,000 evacuees who found temporary shelter in Middle Tennessee were also being bussed home Saturday.
More than 200 evacuees began leaving Knoxville on Friday, headed south on chartered buses. Chris Davis, spokesman for the Knoxville chapter of the American Red Cross, said shelters in Kingsport and Chattanooga were also loading evacuees onto buses.
Across Tennessee, approximately 6,300 evacuees took refuge in government-run shelters last week to escape Gustav’s heavy wind and rain.