Bo Fowlkes was an Event Supervisor at the Amarillo Civic Center in 2005 when civic center staff received a call unlike any in the past.
This was not about a band or celebrity appearing at the civic center and needing special accommodations. This was not an organization wanting to book a date for a convention.
This was about transforming the Amarillo Civic Center Complex (ACCC) into a shelter for hurricane evacuees.
“That is call you do not forget,” said Fowlkes, now general manager for the ACCC.
Twenty years ago last month, Hurricane Katrina had just struck Louisiana. It was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Thousands lost their lives and countless more lost their homes to the ravaging floods.
Enter the City of Amarillo and the entire Amarillo community, which responded as Amarillo does during such times.
“We received calls from city officials that Amarillo was going to stand up as an emergency evacuation shelter for evacuees from Hurricane Katrina,” Fowlkes said. “Evidently, the state of Texas was reaching out statewide and scouting locations that could take plane loads of evacuees.”
The entire Amarillo community sprung into action, turning a good chunk of the ACCC into an emergency shelter, with food, temporary living quarters and medical treatment.
Evacuees were housed in the ACCC North and South Exhibit halls, the Heritage Room and the Regency Room.
“We had quiet areas in one place, medical needs, registration and meals in other rooms,” Fowlkes said. “It was really amazing. We were getting donations from restaurants all over town. We received water, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches – you name it. We were prepared for just about anything. It was a citywide effort.”
Amarillo received about 150 evacuees the first night.
“We got them situated and fed. It was a 24-hour-a-day operation for about two weeks,” Fowlkes said.
While the ACCC was prepared to handle more evacuees, further assistance as far as Amarillo was not necessary.
“We kept expecting more people,” Fowlkes said. “I think due to our distance they determined they could house evacuees closer to Louisiana.”
Those two weeks had a profound impact on Fowlkes.
“You saw people who just a few days ago had a normal life, and now all they had was literally the clothes on their backs. Everything else they had was gone,” Fowlkes said.
Later that month (in September 2005), Fowlkes saw the devastation firsthand. He was part of his local church’s relief team that went to Slidell, La., to help with recovery efforts.
“I took a week off from work,” Fowlkes said. “I experienced the event from two different sides. We tore out sheetrock and scooped mud out of flooded homes.
“When you see fish in people’s front yards and water lines six to seven feet high on the walls of homes … if that does not tug on your heartstrings, I don’t know what will.”
Twenty years later, Fowlkes still appreciates how Amarillo responded during a national crisis.
“I was glad I could be a part of it here with the City of Amarillo,” Fowlkes said. “You could tell that the city employees, no matter what department they came from, had a sense of urgency and desire to help.
“It was not just the city, though. Good citizens all over town helped in so many ways. It really was a community response.”
