Hurricane Evacuees Leave FEMA Hotels

[shugah]

Mar 2, 8:30 AM EST
Hurricane Evacuees Leave FEMA Hotels

ATLANTA (AP) --

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It was the last day FEMA directly paid hotel bills for many evacuees outside Louisiana and Mississippi. Storm victims in about 7,400 hotel rooms in those two hard-hit states have been granted another extension through at least March 15.

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"A hotel is looked at as a short-term solution. People have had six months to find long term housing," said FEMA spokeswoman Bettina Hutchings, adding that a lot of people are settling in, but may eventually return to their homes on the Gulf Coast as housing and employment become more available there.

Not all refugees had to turn in their hotel room keys on Wednesday. Those who qualified for individual assistance were free to use that money to stay in their hotel rooms, while FEMA granted some evacuees extensions under special circumstances.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HURRICANE_HOUSING?SITE=WFSB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-03-02-08-30-15