BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) – Some Hurricane Laura survivors are getting text messages telling them they have to leave their hotel rooms just as another storm could come to Louisiana.

Now, many of them are being told they have to pack up and head back home to Lake Charles.

“The last week and a half, it’s been tumultuous for us because the uncertainty that we had in the beginning is now multiplied times a hundred because we’re being forced to go back to where we came from,” said Alesa Davis.

Davis said she called her Red Cross case worker for another matter and was told she would be put on a list to be out of her hotel room by Wednesday morning. Others, like Dawn Adams, received a text message with similar instructions.

“Right after I got the message, we were packing up and the case worker, that’s when they called me, and when I mentioned, she was trying to talk to me. I was like, we’re packing up and leaving. We were told to get out. She was like, wait, what? They didn’t even know. So the communication is off somewhere,” said Adams.

The American Red Cross sent the following statement:

The American Red Cross, Governor’s Office of Homeland and Emergency Preparedness and the Department of Children and Family Services continue to support the needs of residents impact by Hurricane Laura. The road to recovery will look very different for each impacted individual and family, making a comprehensive plan an essential component to reaching a new normal. In an effort to best support longer term recovery needs, several non-congregate shelter facilities (hotels) across Texas and Louisiana will transition and consolidate over the next several days. For those without transportation, it will be provided. Residents who are believed to have sustained little to no visible damage to their homes are being welcomed with open arms back to their home parishes. A considerable amount of infrastructure has been restored in impacted communities, including power and water, and many restaurants as well as stores are open for business. Again, for those without transportation, it will be provided – including for pets. For residents who may return and be faced with more damage than expected, or other roadblocks that will require support from local, state and other community organizations, resources are readily available.

We encourage residents to connect with local Red Cross staff at their hotel properties before departing to receive a list of resources available for many of the complications they may face. The Red Cross, and its partners continue to be committed to supporting impacted communities as they navigate the long and sometimes winding road to recovery.

Hurricane Laura survivors still in Baton Rouge are trying to figure out what they need to do to possibly get away from another storm.

Davis asked, “I’m a tax paying citizen. I had a job back in Lake Charles. I worked all my life. Why should we be treated this way because we need our state. Where’s our state for us right now?”

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