Fair Park Arena is just one of nearly a dozen shelters in the Birmingham metropolitan area. More than 400 evacuees escaping Hurricane Gustav are here from New Orleans.
It may not be home, but at least it's shelter — shelter from what New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had called the ‘mother of all storms.’
Evacuee Brandy Brown said, "It's been OK, it's a shelter. It's not very comfortable. We've been on cots and stuff, but they're really nice people. They feed us well, and so far, it's been good."
But not all evacuees are as grateful as Brandy.
Brown said, "There may be reason to complain, it's not the best of conditions but it was last minute. We were evacuated and we came here and I think they're doing a good job under the circumstances."
At least better for Brandy this time around. During Hurricane Katrina, she opted to stay in New Orleans.
Brown said, "I stayed during Katrina. Yeah, I was in the house, the water was rising, it came to me about here, before it stopped rising. I was pregnant at the time, and it was a very traumatic experience. I thought I was going to die, so I didn't stay this time."
While Brown said she believes there's no other place like New Orleans, she's not sure about her future there.
Brown said, "I don't know if I'll go back this time. It's really hard to keep rebuilding and rebuilding so I don't know if I'll go back. Hopefully everything's OK."
Hopefully she and the others here will know in a few days.
What we're hearing out of New Orleans is that water has spilled over the top of levees, but officials believe the levees will hold.
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