Harvey

Two weeks ago, we were getting some pretty clear warnings that Tropical Storm Harvey would like come ashore near Houston and then stall out in our area, dumping inches and inches of rain. Houston is prone to flooding and having lived through both Allison and Ike and the more recent Tax Day and Memorial Day floods, we knew to take the threat pretty seriously. We stocked up on water and made sure we had plenty of pantry staples and batteries and flashlights. We said goodbye to Gene, who was off to Singapore, leaving just before the storm hit. And then we waited.

Friday was a quiet day, with little rain, but that's only because Hurricane Harvey hadn't come ashore yet (as a Category 4 hurricane). When it hit the Rockport area a little after 10pm, it was devastating. And then on Saturday the rains started in Houston. And they didn't stop for days.

Torrential rainfall that continues for days on end is terrifying because you don't know what will happen. We heard of friends whose houses were taking on water on Saturday night. Our street looked fine, but this is Houston and you never know. Bayous spill over their banks, streets don't always drain properly, rivers crest and houses flood. So many houses. The rain continued for four days. We had a few breaks on Saturday and Sunday, but it rained nonstop on Monday. And then, on Tuesday evening, the rain finally ended and we saw blue skies for the first time in days. It was the most beautiful sight ever.

We are so lucky that our house didn't flood. Our street never even flooded. But still, we moved small furniture and important items (wedding album, baby books, etc.) upstairs and moved most things out of the lower cabinets, just in case. Prior to the storm, we did all the laundry and scrubbed the house, just in case we lost power. We stored water in bathtubs and bottles and containers. It was stressful, but we are some of the lucky ones.

We had no damage and our biggest concerns were a dead car battery, minimizing water usage (our wasterwater facility wasn't functioning) and boredom. Much of Houston was not so lucky, and even now, one week after the rains stopped, homes in the western part of the city are still underwater and may be for weeks. In other areas, recovery has begun and driving down the streets of Bellaire, Meyerland and Braes Heights, the sidewalks are piled with wet carpet, drywall, couches, mattresses and everything else destroyed by the water and muck. Houston has a long way to go, but the only good thing about this storm is seeing the outpouring of love that this community has. People are helping, everywhere, and it is amazing to see.

Here are some of the photos I took during Harvey. They are nothing like what you see on the news, because we are not in a flooded area. Most of Houston is fine, but over 100,000 homes have damage, and that is just a mind-boggling number.

Harvey prep:  filling up the bathtubs just in case the water supply was tainted

Freyja really likes to drink fresh water but she fell into the bathtub and couldn't get out! She learned her lesson

and decided drinking from the kitty water fountain was okay.

I took these photos early Sunday morning, at the end of a night of torrential rainfall in Houston. You can see that our neighbors left their cars on the street! They were lucky that the street didn't flood. At one point, the road was covered, but that was as bad as it got. We did see street flooding down the block and other areas of West U certainly had streets that turned into rivers.   

Tornado warnings sent us into the pantry and powder room

No walks = bored dog

Hurricane Harvey meals -- we used up our fresh foods first, then moved on to the freezer and saved the pantry goods for last. We never lost power, but again, with a massive storm, you never know. We lost power for five days during Hurricane Ike.  

Astronaut ice cream

The boys kept forgetting not use the upstairs toilet (with no wastewater facilities, we were told not to use the upstairs bathrooms) so I wrapped it up. 

This is what our week looked like:  games, puzzles, books.

The sun finally came out on Tuesday evening, and I have never been so happy to see blue skies. The rain was over, but the hard work of recovery was just beginning.

We were finally able to get out of the house on Thursday. Streets in our neighborhood were clear and some businesses were opening up. We visited one of our favorite indie bookstores, Murder By the Book, where I picked up Isaac's Storm by Eric Larson. It's the story of the devastating 1900 hurricane that destroyed Galveston and killed over 6000 people. It was a timely and heart-wrenching read. 

And then we went to Little Matt's, where the owner was giving out hugs and quarters so the kids could play as many arcade games as they wanted. I love our local businesses that opened up; many, like Local Foods and Crave Cupcakes, were giving the proceeds to local relief organizations.

Ben and Jerry's was open too.

When the first evacuation centers opened, there was a call for supplies, including crayons and workbooks, so the kids helped me bag up items to donate to the shelters. It was something small we could do to help.

We packed up games to take to Twain Elementary, stuffed a box full of books for Books Between Kids, and loaded up clothes and backpacks for a clothing drive for Herod Elementary. We took all our leftover water and towels to a drive at Evelyn's Park and loaded up pet supplies for a drive for the humane society. One of the kinder teachers at West U lost everything, so we gathered up gift cards and cash to help her start over. 

On Friday, the boys and I volunteered at Kids' Meals. We packed up breakfast bags (others were making lunch bags and snack bags) for distribution to area shelters. 

The need in Houston is so great right now. If you're reading this from afar and want to help, two of our favorite local charities are the Houston Food Bank and the Star of Hope Homeless Shelter. Mayor Turner has also set up a relief fund, and the Alley Theatre sustained significant damage and needs help. Houston has a long way to go, but the citizens in this city are pitching in and everyone is helping out.  #HoustonStrong