AMITE - Many Roseland residents may be sleeping at the Amite Community Center Friday night after an explosion at Smitty's Oil Supply left them displaced.

"It scared the hell out of me, excuse me for saying that, because as you see, you thought it was the end of the world," Ida Oden said.

Black smoke continues to fill the air in Roseland.

"I was like scared, I didn't know what was going to happen," Makayla Watson said.

Residents living within a one-mile radius of the business are looking for a place to lay their heads.

"I was so nervous, I didn't know what to do or which way to go," Oden said.

Many are still recounting the moments they were told that the explosion had taken place.

"To experience police officers going from door to door, knocking, saying 'you have to leave, you have to leave, like right now.' People walking out, leaving medications, clothes, personal items," Tuanisha Bates said.

The Amite Community Center opened its doors to evacuees shortly after the order was put in place.

"If I felt like sleeping in my truck, I'm going to sleep right in there because I have my blanket, my skillet, because I keep it in there. Ain't no telling what's going to happen," Keith Washington said.

Several residents have opted to leave town and go stay with family.

"I'm just going to do what they tell me to do and stay safe, and my wife and we're just going to get out of here," Jimmie Jamison said.

Others are still trying to figure out what to do next.

"I know I'm hungry and it's cold inside," Oden said.

The community center is available for residents to sleep for the night. Evacuees were told that blankets and cots were being brought to the center.

No word yet on how long they will be displaced from their homes.