Hundreds of Indian Americans in the path of Hurricane Irma in Florida have moved north to community shelters and homes of friends and family members, mostly in Georgia. The Indian consulate in Atlanta is coordinating efforts to connect those who need shelter and those who are willing to accommodate guests.
“At least 50 to 60 Indian-American organisations and numerous individuals have opened places for evacuees. We now have excess capacity to accommodate people. People opened their doors in the middle the night to take in people, in many cases strangers,” Sandeep Chakravorty, Indian Consul General in New York who is in Atlanta to oversee the coordination, said by phone.
While hundreds of families have moved out of the hurricane’s path, health professionals are staying back. “Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals had to stay back. Their family members also could not leave therefore,” said Philip Mathew, an Indian entrepreneur based in Atlanta. Indian-origin hotel owners are trying to keep their operations open, as thousands leaving their homes are looking for shelter there. The drive from Miami to Atlanta, which takes around ten hours normally, took 36 years as thousands of vehicles clogged the highways and fuel ran out in many places, said Mr. Mathew.
Mr. Chakravorty said volunteers are in touch with people who stayed back in Florida. “Those who wanted to leave Florida have already left and reached where they wanted to. Once the storm lands, people will have to stay safe wherever they are…” he said. There are 600 Indian-American evacuees in Atlanta. More than 400 members of the community have moved to Orlando, in Florida, from other places in the State that are in the hurricane’s path. This figure may not include those moved with friends or family. The google community in Orlando and a WhatsApp group for Atlanta is offering hundreds more rooms for those who need shelter.
