Dallas Convention Center preps for Harvey evacuees, others arrive by air

Like Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago, millions are stranded in Houston's high waters.

"It may be 48 more hours before those roads are available," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Monday.

Thousands of those are destined for Dallas as soon as they can escape Harvey's high waters, joining the more than 500 who are staying in temporary shelters at the Walnut Hill, Tommie Allen, and Samuell Grand Recreation Centers.

It's looking a lot like 2005 in downtown Dallas with the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center packed with forklifts, cots, and blankets.

Like Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago, millions are stranded in Houston's high waters.

"It may be 48 more hours before those roads are available," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Monday.

Thousands of those are destined for Dallas as soon as they can escape Harvey's high waters, joining the more than 500 who are staying in temporary shelters at the Walnut Hill, Tommie Allen, and Samuell Grand Recreation Centers.

While many wait, nearly 500 people trapped at Houston's Hobby Airport found their Dallas reprieve Sunday night.

"It was basically presented as, 'Everybody on board. We're going to get you to Dallas, and we'll go from there,'" traveler Micah Garb recounted to NewsFix. "Believe me, no one wanted to be anywhere other than out of Houston."

The Garb family was supposed to have a 90-minute layover at Hobby, a connector flight at the end of a Costa Rica vacation. The layover turned into 24 hours. They hoped to at least get out of the airport, but by the time their flight was canceled, roads were impassable. It was looking like maybe they'd be stuck at the airport until Wednesday or Thursday.

"The amount of rain is like nothing I've ever seen. It was just relentless and all through the next day," Garb said.

Then came the unlikely announcement that the FAA approved Southwest to fly humanitarian evacuation flights in a small window Sunday.

"Once we lifted off there was applause, and it was a good feeling," Garb said. "We're really grateful to be away and headed home to where we live, but there's a lot of people down there who aren't nearly so lucky. I hope everyone who sees this takes a minute and reaches out."