KILLEEN, TX — Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes in preparation for Hurricane Laura. Some evacuees from Texas' coast and Louisiana have found a temporary home in Killeen.
Management at The Hilton Garden Inn say they are almost fully booked, with most of their guests coming from the Texas and Louisiana border.
With experts describing Hurricane Laura's storm surge as unsurvivable and winds exceeding 150 miles per hour, Jerry McLamore knew this wasn't just another hurricane.
"We don’t really run from a one. We’ll be on standby for [category] two, but when it starts being three and four, it’s time to get out," said McLemore.
Mclemore says his home and church haven't received much damage, but after seeing the destruction on social media, he's hoping others who stayed behind are safe.
"We know when to get out and where to go because we’ve been doing it for quite some time, so it’s nothing unusual, but I just pray for the people that don't listen," he said.
"I was going to stay ride it out like a true soldier," said D’andre Williams.
But thanks to some persuasion from his mother, Williams and his family evacuated to Central Texas from Jennings, Louisiana.
"Everybody was like, "Just come on back," and as we started coming, I just started thinking about everything that could happen, the possibilities of what could happen,” said Williams.
Williams said he left his car in Lake Charles, so he's positive it's a total loss. As for what's left of his Louisiana home, Williams said, “We haven’t heard anything so far, but we just know that there’s no power right now for the next week."
Williams is glad he left after seeing what Laura left behind.
"All we can do is sit back and get prepared and make adjustments when needed," said Williams.
"This is nature. You can’t stop nature. You can’t stop the hurricane. You can’t stop tornadoes, so anything you can do is get out of his path," added McLemore.
McLemore says he plans on going home within the next few days. WIlliams says he’s unsure of when he will be able to return home and is unclear about what he’ll find when he gets there.
