Demand High For Supplies At FEMA Center In Baker

BAKER, La. -- A mandatory curfew remains in effect amidst mass power outages in East Baton Rouge.

Entergy officials said they expect progress by Monday. Until then, hundreds of thousands of people are relying on Federal Emergency Management Agency distribution centers for supplies.

WDSU NewsChannel 6's Rachel Wulff said it was a little more organized at the FEMA distribution center in Baker on Thursday after supplies ran out Wednesday.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) was a major issue because we didn't know they were coming and they showed up, and then we had people coming from every direction," Baker Police Chief Mike Knaps said.

"Things are going exceptionally well," Baker Fire Chief Danny Edwards said.

Wulff reported that 14 trucks arrived overnight with more ice, tarps and ready-to-eat meals.

"We came out here at 6 o'clock this morning, but I was riding with my sister, so I couldn't get anything so I had to get my car. I had been trying to get ice for three days," said Maude Landrum, of Baton Rouge.

The center in Baker serves the entire region -- people from as far away as Mississippi have sought resources from the center.

"They're serving eight cars a minute. So, hopefully those nine-hour waits from yesterday (Wednesday) will be four-hour waits today (Thursday)," Knaps said.

The lines continued at the gas station, where people needed to refuel generators. Three days after Hurricane Gustav dumped heavy rain in the area, more than 250,000 people remained without power, and many trees and transmission lines were also down.

"It's a little worse than we anticipated," Edwards said.

It is taking an army of volunteers to help with cleanup.

"We definitely have more to come. We have three or four more houses to do today and more through the week and into next week," said Ricky Stalling, a volunteer from the Bethany World Prayer Center.

As the Comite River crested, people in low-lying areas began to worry, said Wulff, who found some trailer park residents concerned about flooding.

Resident Eslis Reves-Baker told NewsChannel 6 that her neighborhood flooded overnight.

Many who live there said they are frustrated that the area didn't do more to prepare.

"It wasn't ready, not at all," said Eddie Wheat, of Baker.

Despite the inconveniences, many people kept it all in perspective.

"It could be worse. Thank God we're still alive," Landrum said. "This is the worst I've ever seen it in Baton Rouge."

So far, FEMA has distributed more than 3 million MREs, 55,000 tarps and 460,000 pounds of ice.