BRAGGS - Romalice Anderson has lived all 67 years of his life in New Orleans, and he isn't going to let a hurricane or catastrophic flooding keep him away.
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But as he and other evacuees staying at Camp Gruber see news coverage of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath for the first time, they are starting to understand they may be in Oklahoma for a while.
While evacuees come to terms with what has happened in their city, they are spending their days at Camp Gruber getting their lives back in order.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration began registering evacuees Wednesday at Camp Gruber, an Oklahoma National Guard post. The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department, Social Security and even the U.S. Postal Service also are there trying to get benefits and daily services restored to those who need them.
Authorities think it could take 60 days or more to pump all the flood waters from New Orleans. Anderson said it is hard to think the city he has lived in his whole life lies somewhere beneath the black, bacteria-infested water that now covers it.
"I never imagined it would come to this," Anderson said. "It will never be the same."
The population of evacuees at Camp Gruber, once at more than 1,600, is down to about 1,000. Red Cross spokeswoman Nellie Kelly said 237 people left the post Wednesday.
"Those who have a place to go are going," Kelly said. "People who don't have a place to go will be the ones left."
Those who plan to stay for the time being spend their days waiting in lines and filling out paperwork so the government, friends and relatives can find them.
Evenings generally are quiet. The barracks have televisions, and many watch news coverage. Some play dominoes or spades. Like Anderson, they wonder when they will be able to return to what is left of their homes.
Others have no intention of going back.
Steve Luther lived in New Orleans for 33 years. He's angry at authorities for how the response was handled in the days immediately after the storm. And he's tired of fleeing nature's wrath.
Luther was especially upset at Wednesday's discovery of 30 bodies at a nursing home in Chalmette, La.
Debra Polk of New Orleans has more to worry about. She has five children, who she enrolled Thursday in Muskogee schools. She hasn't decided whether to stay in Oklahoma or seek out family in Atlanta. Whether her children like their new school will play a big part.
"I don't want to do anything rash," Polk said. "I don't want to drag my children somewhere and not be stable. I'm just weighing everything."
Sitting in the shade, waiting in another line to talk to another government agency, Luther contemplated his future.
"I'm just waiting to get everything straightened out here, then I'm probably going west -- somewhere with no hurricanes, no tornadoes and preferably not too much rain," he said. "I've seen enough water. Las Vegas is looking good, maybe Reno. I'm not worried about the heat, I can handle that."
No danger
State health officials said Thursday children displaced by Hurricane Katrina who will attend Oklahoma schools do not pose a health risk to state students.
The state waived proof of immunization for children whose families evacuated the Gulf Coast for Oklahoma, including those staying at Camp Gruber, after verifying that Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have similar immunization laws.
The only Oklahoma-required vaccine not mandated by those states is hepatitis A, which will be offered as needed through county health departments, state officials said.
Red Cross spokeswoman Nellie Kelly said the clinic at Camp Gruber has provided many tetanus boosters and other shots.
The state Health Department will hold an immunization clinic at the Oklahoma National Guard post from 1 to 5 p.m. today for children and adults.
