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13 June 2001 by Christina Ward in Texas The American Red Cross has organised shelter for more than 10,000 people left homeless this weekend as tropical storm Allison ravaged 48 counties and parishes in Texas and Louisiana. At least 17 deaths are being blamed on the deluge brought on by the first storm of this year's hurricane season. Sixteen people were killed in Houston and one in Louisiana. Tropical storm Allison dumped more than 60 centimetres of record rainfall in a matter of days in some of the most flood-prone areas in the United States. With floodwaters now receding, residents of the affected regions have started to clean up their homes with those who can move back, doing so. Johnnie Jackson went to bed last Friday night without thinking twice about Tropical Storm Allison. The 65-year-old woman who lives alone in a single-storey home in Houston, knew that the slow-moving storm had brought heavy rains to the Houston area earlier in the week, but by the weekend the weather seemed headed east to Louisiana. What Jackson — and many other Texas residents — didn't realize, however, was that Allison's torrential rains had changed direction and were headed back to Texas. She awoke shortly after 1 a.m. to the sound of the telephone ringing. A frantic neighbour was on the line, urging Jackson to get out of bed and get ready to evacuate. "I suffered a stroke a few years ago, and I don't have use of my left side," Jackson said. "But I can still get around my home with my cane. I got up and realized the water was rising in my house — it was nearly up to the top of my bed already. If my neighbour hadn't called ... well, I hate to think of it." Jackson sat Monday (11 June) in a wheelchair in the gymnasium of Houston's Oak Village Middle School, where she recalled the night she lost all of her belongings and, quite possibly, her home. Oak Village was one of 26 Red Cross shelters opened throughout the Houston area after Allison damaged more than 20,000 homes. Since the flooding began, more than 9,000 residents have checked in to Red Cross shelters. Nearly 15,000 meals have been served, and 13 emergency response vehicles are driving through the affected areas, distributing food and beverages to affected families. By the time Jackson made her way out the front door in the early hours of Saturday morning, the water was already waist-high. "Can you imagine what it's like to see your furniture floating and swirling around you?" she asked. "I've never seen water move that fast." A neighbour with a boat picked her up outside, carrying several of the street's residents to a nearby two-story home, where they all crowded into second floor rooms. By Saturday evening, with water now as high as 7 feet in some homes on the street, a Houston police rescue team arrived and took Jackson and her neighbours to a local church. "Then they brought a big long dump truck, and carried us all to this school," Jackson said. "I haven't been home since Friday night, and I'm still wearing my night gown underneath these donated clothes." After living 20 years in the same house, Jackson doesn't know what she's going to do next. Her sister checked on the damage, and reported back that all of the furniture and belongings were soaked and destroyed. The house may be salvageable — but only after major cleaning and rebuilding. "I'll do whatever I have to do to get the home back," said Jackson. At 65, she can't imagine moving. But the effects of a stroke and diabetes make her own abilities limited; she will have to rely on others. For now, she must remain in a shelter. Like Jackson, thousands of other Houston families are feeling helpless and robbed by the flooding. Victims without flood insurance, such as lower-income families who rent their homes, are especially distraught. With their homes gone, most will likely have to start from scratch. The American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local officials are working together to meet both short-term and long-term needs of the families. As FEMA sets up an application process to enable long-term financial assistance, the Red Cross is providing meals, clothes, supplies and shelter to those trying to deal with the immediate aftermath of the floods. American Red Cross President Dr. Bernadine Healy travelled to Houston from Washington, D.C., on Monday. She spoke with flood victims at Oak Village Middle School and thanked the hundreds of Red Cross volunteers participating in the massive disaster response. "I think this shelter demonstrates what the Red Cross is all about — people helping people," Dr. Healy said. "During a disaster of this magnitude, a community inevitably comes together. And the Red Cross is the community: It is your neighbours, friends and co-workers, volunteering their time to help during an emergency." |
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disaster volunteer comforts children at a shelter.
