 Significant action was taken along the Gulf Coast as the threat the storm posed, predicted to come ashore at Category Four strength, became more urgent. Over a half million people evacuated their homes in Texas and Louisiana, including everyone in Iberia Parish. A total of 200,000 people evacuated in Louisiana. At least 2,000 volunteers staffed 115 Red Cross shelters in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. More than 20,000 people stayed in those shelters. The Red Cross also sent over 160,000 meals to the area. A total of 3,000 prison inmates in Texas were evacuated to safer inland locations. The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis was delayed for five days when the Kennedy Space Center was threatened by the storm, the first time a launch in Florida had been delayed because of weather in Houston. Stores across the warning area were very busy in advance of the storm. In New Iberia, Louisiana, hardware stores ran out of stock, and businesses in Lafayette, Louisiana reported similar shortages.
