A City Within A City
UA Rec Center Provides Shelter to Hundreds

On Aug. 27, with Hurricane Katrina threatening the U.S. gulf coast, officials in Alabama , Louisiana and Mississippi declared a state of emergency for their respective areas. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations were ordered. Many of those fleeing the wrath of the impending storm, which grew to the strength of a category five hurricane, came to Tuscaloosa seeking a safe haven until the storm had passed.

For the first time since the completion of its renovation in 2004, the UA Rec Center opened as a Red Cross shelter and at one point housed as many as 500 evacuees, a fourth of which were children. From infants to 90-year-olds, the evacuees became part of a city within a city as volunteers from the UA community and throughout the city provided relief and assistance. Seemingly, no one anticipated the devastation Katrina would bring or the overflowing of generosity after the storm. One person who has experienced it first hand is George Brown, director of UA Recreation. Brown shares his experience on a UA Weblog. Excerpts from Sept. 1 and Sept. 6 are below.

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