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Expenses mount

I've done a rough tally in my head and I spent around $500 for my eight day evacuation. And that was doing it cheap, sharing rooms with other students, staying in less-than-desirable hotels and trying to save as much as possible on meals. (I ate at Waffle House twice, for instance.)

I can't imagine how the families I ran into at hotels and gas stations made it through. I remember one family of six that had bought a little grill and turned the parking lot of the Motel 6 into their own backyard, of sorts. Even then, they said, the costs were mounting.

What if we have to leave again? When - and most importantly, if - we get to apply for aid from FEMA, how long will it take us to get our money? How much will they reimburse us? How? What? When?

The questions are mounting, as fast as the expenses. And this wasn't even a major hurricane, I keep telling myself. I can't imagine how people dealt with Katrina, when I can barely make it through eight days on evacuation road.

Posted by Lara Richards at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)