Relief agencies gearing up to help flood-stricken Houston

ALBANY — Over the past few months, the citizens of Albany have become all too familiar with the phrase “disaster relief.” They watched with a shared sense of understanding over the weekend as Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country, was hit with torrential rains from Tropical Storm Harvey, causing massive flooding throughout the city.

And it’s still raining.

Greg Postel, meteorologist and hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel, said the Houston area could be headed for “the worst flooding disaster in U.S. history,” and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said, “We’re measuring rain these days not in inches but in feet.”

Here are the preparations under way by some well-know relief organizations:

United Methodists

Most Houston-area United Methodist churches cancelled services or worshipped online because people were either stranded in their homes or pastors wanted to keep folks off the roads, Texas Conference Bishop Scott Jones said.

“The flooding is widespread in the Houston area. There is not one area that has not been affected. I am praying for all involved,” he said.

First United Methodist Church of Albany’s Todd Urick said the church is putting together “cleaning buckets” with supplies right now to be distributed by the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

“We are really waiting on a damage assessment and an invitation from the Texas Conference,” Urick said.

American Red Cross

According to the Red Cross’ Disaster Relief website, more than 1,800 people took refuge from the deadly storm Saturday night in 34 Red Cross and community shelters in Texas. These numbers are expected to grow, and dozens of additional shelters could open.

Harvey will continue to produce large amounts of rain over the next several days. Millions of people are facing flash flood warnings, including the entire Houston metro area, which is under a flash flood emergency.

There are reports of people stranded in their homes, and water rescues are ongoing. Roads are flooded, rail lines are shut down, airports closed, and hundreds of thousands have no power. Numerous hospitals, nursing facilities and dialysis centers are closed.

Hundreds of Red Cross volunteers from all over the country are on the ground now, working to provide safe shelter and comfort to people impacted by the storm. The Red Cross has enough shelter supplies in Texas to support 28,000 people, and supplies for an additional 22,000 are being sent in now.

In addition, tractor-trailer loads of ready-to-eat meals, comfort kits, kitchen supplies, and cleaning supplies are on the ground in Texas. Nearly half of the Red Cross’ emergency response fleet — more than 150 vehicles – has been mobilized.

Samaritan’s Purse

Ken Bevel, who is a coordinator of relief efforts for Sherwood Baptist Church, said there have been no formal talks locally in regard to relief efforts for Houston because of a backlog in Albany.

“We have not had any discussions of relief efforts in Houston because we are still dealing with more than 200 cases here,” Bevel said. “If we are asked about helping in Houston, we are referring people to contact Samaritan’s Purse.”

Two disaster relief units left their base in North Wilkesboro, N.C., last Friday, and the tractor-trailers will stand by in north Texas until weather permits staff to move into areas of devastation, Samaritan’s Purse officials said in a news release.

“We’re reaching out to partner churches, from Victoria, where our first disaster relief unit made its first deployment in 1998, all the way to Houston,” the news release said. “Once we identify the areas of greatest need, we will secure host church locations and begin deploying volunteers to physically and spiritually minister to homeowners.”

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army said on its website that the organization is preparing for the largest mass feeding in U.S. history.

“Mobile feeding units from all over the country are mobilizing as we speak,” SA of Florida’s Kevin Smith said. “Our advanced disaster recovery units of mobile kitchens, shower units and bunkhouses are just pieces of a massive puzzle that will require a whole community effort across Texas.”