GALVESTON, Texas -- Officials warned Saturday that rats, raw sewage and a strict curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week.

Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home. Most of the island, however, won't open back up until Wednesday.

Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.

It could be weeks or more before basic services are restored in all areas. Authorities cautioned that residents could find drastically different conditions depending on how their property fared.