Updated 9/8/2008 8:04:22 PM
ACWORTH, Ga. -- Dana Hawkins just said goodbye to more than two dozen family members who spent four days at her Acworth home, searching for safety and shelter from Hurricane Gustav.
Ike may drive them all back.
"It was a 20 hour journey coming the first time," said Hawkins. "Then, because of the traffic, it was 12 hours going back. A few days rest, and do it again."
Dana's in-laws, nieces, nephews, and a few long distance friends all claimed a corner of her home while Gustav raked across their hometown of New Orleans. On Thursday, they returned to find their city swamped with too much water, and not enough electricity.
Now, it's Ike. The hurricane is making its way into the Gulf of Mexico, and could soon bear down on the Big Easy. Dana's mother-in-law has already decided if Ike takes aim at New Orleans, she'll return to Metro Atlanta, but she wonders if she's got the money to make it back.
"We would have to have gas money," said Viola Hawkins. "I'm retired. I'm not working so, I don't know. My daughter-in-law said she would help."
"They haven't been able to pay bills as it is, because you needed to live on your money to evacuate," said Dana. "It just exacerbates a bad situation."
The American Red Cross is on high alert and prepared to reopen shelters if Ike drives evacuees back to Metro Atlanta.
