August 28, 2017—The number of people heading to Austin impacted by Hurricane Harvey could rise drastically. State officials asked the city if it can house 7,000 evacuees from the Gulf Coast.Mayor Steve Adler says officials are trying to figure out capacity and logistics and are planning to turn the Austin Convention Center into a mega shelter. After Hurricane Katrina, the city hosted 4,000 evacuees at the convention center. The city plans to move people out of existing shelters to the mega shelter within the next two days.

In an emergency city council meeting on Tuesday morning, Adler said, “We pretty much dodged the bullet here in Austin, but we will do everything we can to help others.” Continue reading →

August 28, 2017—Mayor Steve Adler said Austin is prepared to help Hurricane Harvey evacuees in the coming days as more residents seek shelter from the storm’s aftermath, which caused severe flooding in Houston as well as Central Texas.

As Austin looks to shelter more out-of-town individuals, Adler said he had the opportunity to speak with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to discuss how the city can help.

“First, everybody should know that company is coming,” Adler said. “We and other major cities around the state have received a request from the state to shelter thousands of our fellow Texans.” Continue reading →