Steve Chase, spokesman for the local Red Cross branch, said most of the families landing in Beaufort are coming from New Orleans and Mississippi.
"What's happening is people are staying with their relatives either in Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head or the military bases -- the numbers are increasing rapidly," he said.
On Thursday, Sgt. Andrew Groneman and his wife, Stacy, opened their Beaufort home to Stacy's sisters -- Laura and Kellie Wade.
The Gronemans are in the final phases of obtaining legal guardianship of the girls, who were displaced from their home in Long Beach, Miss.
The girls' parents stayed behind in Long Beach to assess the damage to their home.
The Gronemans decided to seek guardianship to receive military medical care for the girls -- Sgt. Groneman is a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
"It wasn't easy for (their parents) to sign the papers, but it just makes everything a whole lot easier," he said.
Long Beach, a city of about 18,000 residents on the Gulf Coast about 17 miles west of Biloxi, Miss., lost about 90 percent of its buildings.
Beaufort and the United Way of Beaufort County are scheduled to send 125 volunteers to Long Beach on Friday to clear roads of debris.
While repair efforts in Long Beach are under way, Laura and Kellie will attend Beaufort Academy starting Monday. Both girls were enrolled in Long Beach public schools and were admitted into Beaufort Academy, a private school, after passing a standard admissions test.
Tim Johnston, headmaster at Beaufort Academy, said the school is willing to take in as many children displaced by the storm as it can -- a number Johnston has not pinpointed. When necessary, the school won't charge tuition, he said.
"We are not worried about ourselves in this situation," Johnston said. "We are ready to provide seats for families in a dire situation who are displaced by the hurricane."
On Thursday, Congress approved $51.8 billion to aid hurricane victims with financial struggles; so far, Olufemi Redwood-Turral, 24, has received $300 and thrift store vouchers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The aspiring actress moved into her parents' home on St. Helena Island last week when the storm destroyed her New Orleans apartment complex.
After applying for an identification number from FEMA, she was able to receive the small stipend.
"I just don't see how I am supposed to live on $300," she said.
Most of her savings already have been depleted on gas and food. She doesn't have renters' insurance, and she still has student loan debt from her days at Jackson State University, where she earned a degree in mass communications. Her only worldly possessions are a few pairs of shoes, two pairs of jeans, two shirts and a "club outfit."
Redwood-Turral said she's pursuing a number of complicated federal options to receive grant money to pay for daily needs. As for her student loan, President George Bush announced last week that students with loan debt who were impacted by the storm could seek temporary forbearance, which will delay payment.
Last week, she applied for assistance from the Red Cross but is waiting for a reply.
The Red Cross, an independent, nonprofit organization, distributes money based on need and the number of dependents in a family.
Savannah and Columbia Red Cross chapters have set up several shelters to take care of the hundreds of displaced families filtering into those areas, but Chase said Beaufort chapters have opted not to open a shelter.
"People in need of shelter can go to Savannah for the time being," he said.
While there are many local families that have expressed interest in opening their doors to strangers, Chase said he is reluctant.
"We have no way to security check the individuals that are coming up, so I would rather not be responsible for putting a person in somebody's home," Chase said.
A few local apartment complexes have offered free spaces for hurricane disaster victims, but Chase said he does not want to approve any relocation until Beaufort is secure from Tropical Storm Ophelia threats.
"The last thing we want to do is put people into apartments they are going to have to evacuate in 24 hours," Chase said.