Dallas creates website to organize Harvey relief efforts

DALLAS - The city of Dallas now has a website set up to help organize relief efforts in the city. It includes a list of donation items that are needed and details about how residents can volunteer.

LINK: dallashelpforharvey.net

A large Dallas shelter at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is ready to house 5,000 people. It may see busloads of evacuees arrive Tuesday.

“The state’s got 250 buses ready when the highways free up but right now they’re still… they’re still a little flooded and it’s hard to get them past. So the cars aren’t moving and those waters got to be able to come down to get those people out,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.

As far as volunteers, the mayor said people need to register on the city’s website.

“Go there and you can see how you can give money and you can see how you can register to volunteer. And then once we get those evacuees potentially here in the next few days we’re going to be calling you and asking you to bring stuff and help,” he said. “Dallas has been terrifically generous already and I expect us to step it up to the next level.”

The mayor said the plan is to keep the shelter open as long as the city can.

“For Katrina it was months. We were able to integrate people into our city. Some of them stayed here forever. So we’re going to have to play it moment by moment, day by day and not make any big predictions,” he said.

The convention center's parking garage will become a large ‘mega shelter' and the city is exploring options for other large shelters. Hundreds of people are already staying at three city recreation centers.