I’m pushing back another blog post to give you guys an update about Harvey. I’m sure you’ve seen the reports on the news and on social media, and while it might seem like it’s over it’s not. According to the reports, we’re supposed to get more rain today and tomorrow. In fact, it hasn’t stopped raining by me since that band came in last night. It’s not as hard as it was last night, but it’s consistent. In my opinion, that’s just as bad because the constant rain isn’t giving the water that’s currently on the ground a chance to recede. it was reported that 9 trillion gallons of water have been dropped on this area since Friday. That’s trillion with a “T”, and we still have more coming in.
For those of you who don’t know, Houston was dubbed the bayou city because we’re full of those and as of now they’re at their banks and some are even over them. I’m currently at home and high up so my apartment is fine, but the roads by me are flooded and so are the freeways. In fact, they shut down our freeways because they were under so much water yesterday. My campus at work has taken on so much water that it’s unrecognizable. Building basements and entrances are underwater, like 5+ feet of water and I know that we’re not the only ones. I was blessed to be high up, but I know that others weren’t as lucky. I live near the Meyerland area and they got hit REALLY hard. Entire neighborhoods and apartment complexes had to be rescued and from what I see this morning it’s still going on.
I want to thank all of our first responders and volunteers who have come down with their boats to help people. The Cajun Navy, business owners who have opened up their offices as a shelter, Mattress Mack, our news anchors who are not only reporting the news but helping transport people to safety, and honestly anyone with a boat who is helping fellow Texans. It’s times like these that reinforce how proud I am to be a Texan. We set aside all differences during times like this and help our fellow man.
I saw a few people criticizing us Houstonians on social media, asking why we didn’t evacuate before Harvey hit. While that sounds great in theory, it wouldn’t have been practical. It wasn’t classified as a Cat 4 hurricane until shortly before it hit and you guys obviously didn’t see the mess that was us trying to evacuate during Rita. Thousands of cars were left stranded on the freeways and trips that should’ve taken a few hours to make (ie: 4 hours to Dallas, 2.5 hours to Austin, etc) were taking entire days. And even then some didn’t make it because they ran out of gas or stalled. Yes, it sounds great to issue an evacuation order but it’s hard to get 4+ million people out of a city, especially when they’re already panicking.
I know many are wondering what they can do to help. Well I have a few suggestions:
- Volunteer rescuing: If it’s safe for you to do this and you have a boat or a high vehicle you can always volunteer to help with rescues.
- Donate money: JJ Watt has started a great fundraiser for the survivors of this disaster. His initial goal of $200k was quickly met and it’s now sitting at $7+ million. Click here to find out more about the fundraiser and give what you can.
- Donate clothes, toiletries, supplies, and appliances: I’m actually getting some things together today to drop off at local shelters when this is all over. I know a bunch of people who coupon and who have stock rooms with toiletries and cleaning supplies. Those kinds of things are going to be needed when all of this is over. If you can, please send your excess over to shelters to those in need.
- Prayer and good thoughts: If you’re the praying type, keep us in your prayers. Send good vibes our way. We’re still in the thick of this, and we have a long way to go in recovery.
To my fellow Houstonians and residents of the Gulf Coast, stay strong. We will make it through this. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones. I know it’s hard, but try and get some rest. Sleep in shifts if you have to, but try and get some rest. You’ll need to be at your best when we start rebuilding. We’ll make it through this like we’ve made it through so many disasters before and we’ll be stronger because of it.
I’m going to paste some resources below, please feel free to share them.
Coast Guard phone numbers for Houston: 281-464-4851/4852/4853/4854/4855
National Guard: 713-578-3000
Please if you call 911, stay on hold they will answer your call. Hanging up will move you in the queue.