Capella Tucker

Twenty years ago, New Orleanians began arriving in Houston by the busload.

Michael Moore served as chief of staff under then-Houston Mayor Bill White. He remembered thousands of evacuees arriving at the Astrodome. Over the next few months, city officials scrambled to find them housing and schools for their children.

He said there was never any question about ensuring that evacuees felt welcome and had their needs met.

"You have to take care of your neighbor. It wasn’t a choice. It’s what you do, and Houston, Harris County stood up and did it," Moore said. "Our diversity is our strength, and they added to the diversity."

Researchers and city officials estimate anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 evacuees from Louisiana came to the Houston area. As the days stretched into we

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