Hurricane Harvey was the wettest tropical cyclone that landed in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and stranded without knowing what they had lost. Houses, streets, schools flooded with water after being battered with over 40 inches of rain in the short time period of 4 days. My friend was one of the people who was fortunate to have a house on a mound. Her school, shut down for three weeks to become a safe haven for those who were not as lucky as her. She lived through it with little to no damage but that was not the case for many in Texas, especially Houston.
Where do you live?
Sugarland, Texas which is about a 30 minute drive from Houston.
Before the hurricane, how did your family prepare?
So my parents started by filling all the bathtubs with water and moving our family pictures and couches upstairs. We stocked up on food and water bottles and bought a bunch of batteries for our flashlights. Then we boarded up our door so the flood waters couldn’t get in.
Did you hear of any extreme preparation?
Well, everyone knew what to do but it was just getting the materials to do it. People fought in grocery stores, made safe havens in their attics, but I wouldn’t say it was extreme, it was just for protection.
Did you ever consider evacuating?
We were going to leave town; half of Houston left. I know churches had shelter all ready and the stadium was open to everyone so my family thought it wasn’t necessary.
Do you know anyone that died?
I know a teacher from a high school that was 30 minutes away drowned and some lady working at a spa got trapped in a basement elevator underwater.
Have you already seen rebuilding of Texas after the storm?
Not quite yet but luckily for us we have oil money – I think we will be ok.
By: Amanda Finnie