Ike evacuees heading back to south Texas

(CNN) -- About 1,600 Hurricane Ike evacuees from the Texas coast headed home on state-chartered buses Monday after spending the week in shelters in the Fort Worth area.

A fleet of 35 buses picked up evacuees at shelters in a four-county area around Fort Worth and began a four-hour trip to Houston, Beaumont and Baytown, according to Cecilia Jacobs, chief communications officer for the city of Fort Worth.

"Those areas are primarily where we had guests from," she said, referring to Ike evacuees.

At the height of the evacuation, 24 shelters were operating in the Fort Worth area, Jacobs said. Evacuees in those shelters, and in shelters scattered throughout Texas and beyond, have begun heading home in recent days, and by Monday, when the bus fleet set out, only 11 shelters were still open in the Fort Worth area, Jacobs said.

She said state and local officials decided to take evacuees back to Houston, Baytown and Beaumont in south Texas because authorities had determined those areas safe to reopen, and shelters were waiting there for evacuees "to help them transition back into their homes." Watch how rebuilding may be a difficult task »

Meanwhile, in Ike-ravaged Galveston, officials said residents could return to their homes on a permanent basis Wednesday, but the mayor emphasized that they will find few comforts.

Galveston has little or no electricity, natural gas, water or sewer services. There are no medical facilities, there is limited cell-phone coverage and a curfew is in place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Violators risk a $2,000 fine, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said Saturday.

Residents of Galveston Island's heavily damaged west end were able to return as of noon Monday to assess damage, but they were told they must must leave the area by 6 p.m., said Danny Weber, Galveston's mayor pro-tem.

"We encourage you to come down, look, and then please leave," he said.

Galveston took a direct hit when Ike barreled ashore September 13 as a Category 2 storm. Despite orders to evacuate, about 20,000 of Galveston's 60,000 residents opted to remain in their homes. Many of those who left went to shelters.

A search-and-rescue effort on the island is finished, and 50 residents are missing, City Manager Steve LeBlanc said.

Thomas said residents can begin returning for good at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Residents and business owners must show photo identification verifying their address to guards manning checkpoints, she said.

Dr. Mark Guidry, head of the Galveston County Health District, urged residents who have "any medical condition that requires frequent care and the possibility of hospitalization" to delay their return until the island's public health and medical infrastructure are in better shape.

Guidry also urged parents to keep their children away until debris fields have been cleared.

Anyone who chooses to return, Guidry said, should have plenty of hand sanitizer; thick, long-sleeved shirts; long pants; protective gloves and footwear; face masks; mosquito spray; bleach and other cleaning supplies; first-aid kits; charged cell phones; full tanks of gas; and bottled, boiled or treated drinking water.

He said returnees will find "enormous" traffic congestion, since many traffic lights don't work.

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston has "only the most rudimentary of medical resources," warned Dr. Joan Richardson, the institution's emergency preparedness officer.

"We have no capability of hospitalizing anyone, as we have no hospital beds that are open," Richardson said.

Anyone requiring anything beyond basic first aid will be stabilized "as best we can" and flown off the island, she said.

LeBlanc urged anyone returning home to refrain from turning on gas or electricity before ensuring there are no leaks or electrical shorts.

He said special care should be taken in houses flooded by more than 10 or 12 inches of water -- the height of wall plugs.

"You don't want to turn on the electricity, because there may be corrosion in those circuits, and it may start a fire, and we have limited fire protection," LeBlanc said.

Any gas meter or regulator that was submerged must be replaced, LeBlanc said. Regulators, which reduce pressure from gas lines entering the house, may not work after being submerged, resulting in the flow of too much gas, he said.

"If that's the case, and there was a leak, you could have a serious fire and an explosion," LeBlanc said.

Some 400 to 500 law enforcement officials are on the island to maintain order and to enforce the curfew, he said.

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