Harvey. Such an asshole.

in Scary things

It’s late but I can’t sleep because I’m watching  timelines and texts from hundreds of friends affected by Harvey.  We lived in Houston through many hurricanes, storms, and floods but I’ve never seen anything like this.  I’m watching friends lose their houses and I’m also watching friends out rescuing strangers.  It’s breaking my heart and making my heart whole and then making me want to airlift everyone out of rain and into my house where we can binge watch tv and snuggle small animals.  But I can’t do that so instead I’m going to link to a few places that give great resources and ways to help.

How to help people affect by Hurricane Harvey.

And this one:

Hurricane Harvey: Here’s How to Help.

And a giant thank you to those who are helping.  To those who donate, who rescue, who care, who sleep at work for days because they are needed, who stay strong for others even when they are breaking.  I’m sending love.  And donations.  And more love.  If you want to leave suggestions in the comments for organizations that are needing help you can.  (The Red Cross is great and I just gave them another donation tonight but there are also a lot of other organizations that are helpful and stick around after Red Cross is gone.)

Back to funny stuff soon.  Just needed to get this out.

84 thoughts on “Harvey. Such an asshole.”

Read comments below or add one.

  1. I’m glad you and the family are safe. I’m waiting on word from Houston on some folks. It’s amazing to see 17′ of water on streets I recognize.

    Be well and stay safe, all of you.

  3. Samaritans Purse. I don’t support the politics but their teams are excellent at cleaning out debris.

  4. I watched someone go fishing in their own home… terrifying and sad but a good way to lighten the mood I guess.

  5. Isnt there a diaper collection service? I cant find the name but feel sure I read about it.

    (Texas Diaper Bank needs donations to provide diapers to families affected and displaced by the hurricane. Diapers can be dropped off at their location at 5415 Bandera Road, Suite 504, San Antonio, TX 78238)

  6. We are from Buffalo but my husband is in Texas for the military right now. We have never seen anything like this! Thank you for posting the resources. I would like to help but feel so useless.

  7. If any State can pull together, it’s Texas. I have seen some pretty wonderful people helping out in incredible ways. People with their own boats out rescuing those who need it. My thoughts and Prayers are with all the people who have been touched by this Hurricane.

  8. Stephanie – it’s Texas Diaper Bank diapers for babies and seniors and disabled adults
    https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftexasdiaperbank.networkforgood.com%2F&h=ATOKV6u-gSdjiy3MFijAIjljez3IIxKDBV7E3jrZOfhxCw5BycRBW2ZW687C0-RS_eKaxlRponyh7eLbOPFEhFSjqD-pfvh5_siGd8OrntUeWjO-8zvV-9lC1JsNUOgJ-xghHD7NBg79pNx2VkvU1cFKms9BsU5xoNrFS-55tR7HgrWN0CHqOe0FPWgeN_hKEsScF51uG5w-iYl2yyYwe26z061OqCN__nVrXol89_uve-RvF1Y7g4ky8zajOcnjHQ4rxsiAu3iivVL9-nbNL0QzWDlx4XI5E7qIyVJc

  9. It’s incredibly sad. I read that the three main reasons people don’t leave is that they are worried about their pets, that they couldn’t afford to leave, and that they were okay in previous hurricanes. Hope they all get rescued. Praying.

    (Also, it can sometimes be very dangerous evacuating so it’s a difficult decision. I was once stuck in a car for 5 hours trying to evacuate with 3 cats. And that five hours was just getting out of Houston. People started running out of gas on the road and it created road blocks and there were no gas stations with gas so people ended up stuck in their cars during the storm. In that particular case the evacuation was actually more dangerous than staying, but other times evacuation was totally the right decision. It’s always a scary decision no matter what. ~ Jenny)

  10. Texasdiaperbank.org
    Also, there’s a need for feminine hygiene products. Someone has an Amazon wish list going for that. Don’t have the link right now, will look and post again.

    This community means the world to me. When the depression monster tells me everything is awful and I’m useless, knowing that I can come here and read comments and laugh and cry, I remember that we’re human and we’re all in this together. Thank you.💖

  11. Thank you for the info. Just donated to the Texas SPCA so animals not fortunate enough to have their own bag of food like Otis can be taken care of.

  12. Feminine hygiene products can be donated through this group. Can you imagine not having access to these products?

    #HPPATX is donating feminine hygiene products to flood victims affected by #HurricaneHarvey. You can help too! amazon.com/gp/registry/wi…

  13. We’re flooded. There are feet of muddy, possibly snake-y water in my house. I don’t know how to do this. If there is a procedure our a protocal, I don’t know what it is. All we can do now is joke about about how to make that “indoor-outdoor pool” a selling feature.

    Thank you for being sleepless with me and caring.

    (Sending you such love. I know this is awful. Jokes are good. And one day this will make an amazing story. I know it’s small consolation. ~ Jenny)

  15. Husband is there in the midst of it all but safe and dry so far. Kids and I are in Dallas with my mom. So scary to watch this unfold. Thank you for your post … all the thoughts and prayers help more than you know.

  16. I’ve donated $50 to the Red Cross, $50 to SPCA. I’ve posted the links everywhere I can think of. Stay safe, love you lots.

  17. Its so heavy, Jenny… Life and death heavy and I can’t breathe. My anxiety has me submerged too. Drowning in a reality I can’t change for anyone. At the bottom of the ocean that once covered my state, my family and history may lay like artifacts for someone to discover. I wasn’t ready.

  19. You captured it perfectly, both the horror of the storm and the awesomeness of the people. Thanks for the help links, hope everyone pitches in. Glad you are safe and dry.

  20. One of my best friends from school (20+ years) is in Pearland, Texas with her husband and 4 kids (ages 8, 6, 5, 4). I don’t think there’s any more helpless feeling then seeing her images of the destruction around her and knowing that all I can do from Seattle is watch, pray, donate and worry. She is such a good momma, I know they agonized over whether to evacuate or not. From what I’ve read, they really were told by city officials that Harvey “probably wouldn’t be that bad” because it was down-grading categories quickly. I know that it’s going to be days, weeks, months and yes, years, of healing from Harvey. I really wish that this terrible situation had a better name. Who is in charge of naming the hurricanes??

  21. Austin Pets Alive is in need of donations. What an incredible organization! “Austin Pets Alive! has been helping shelters in the direct line of Hurricane Harvey. We’ve been working with these shelters to transport as many pets as possible to APA! and as of Saturday morning, we’ve transported over 235 animals to our shelter…”
    https://www.austinpetsalive.org/hurricane-harvey-evacuations/

  22. Thank you. It’s hard to know where to start when it’s not outside your own doorstep.

  23. Thank you for the reminder. Gave to the Red Cross this morning, Portlight this evening. Thinking very dry thoughts and hoping everyone who wants to get out tomorrow gets that chance.

  24. Floods and storms seem like no big deal until they happen in a place that you’ve lived, or are affecting an area where people you love are currently living. It happened like that for me when there were massive floods in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) where I used to live – seeing pictures on TV of downtown streets underwater shocked me. I’ve also survived storms in the US, including Hurricane Frederick in 1979 – trying to reconcile that buildings I KNEW for a fact were on certain corners of streets were no longer there…they were simply gone, like dust. It’s absolutely mind blowing.

    I have many friends in the States that I’m praying for, and I’ve made a donation to the Red Cross and to the Austin Pets Alive organization (https://www.austinpetsalive.org/hurricane-harvey-evacuations/) who do an amazing job of rescuing pets in danger of Hurricane Harvey. I wish I could do more. Thank YOU Jenny for your tender heart and loving concern and for the links that you post as well. There are always good charities out there that do a tremendous job helping that can use donations and I hope that your readers and fans will be generous.

  26. I was watching the news last night where it first made landfall. The residents that had stayed behind, when told to evacuate, were told to mark their bodies so they could be identified after they died. There was also a man that said if there is a next time, he was going to drag is mother kicking and screaming all the way out of the path of the hurricane or a tropical storm as they barely survived it. Everything, except for the immediate area of the house where they were cowering down in, was destroyed! He never wants to go through that again!

    All people in the affected areas have my prayers. I have an uncle and a couple of cousins and their families that live in Louisiana around Lake Charles and Leesville. This storm still has my full attention for the next week!

    {hugs}
    Sandy

  27. We are so used to things like this. I’m from and live in LA, right next door to Texas. We’re scheduled to get rain early this week; but thankfully won’t be near what south east Texas got. Sending the lone star state some love! ❤️

  29. You can donate to Team Rubicon. They are a group of Military Veterans and Civilians that will “be deployed” to help people clean up. They muck out the mud, tear down interiors as needed, put up temporary roofing, clear trees etc, etc.

  31. There was a FOOT of water measured in this area Sunday. I’m in Houston. We looked at the 100 year floodplain map before we chose/bought our house. Mama’s house? That area still holds the US rainfall in the summer of 1979, 46 inches. We were there to help my grandmother.

    Her house stood on two foot piers, and there was 18 inches of water in the house. We put the 3 dogs (black lab mixes) up in the treehouse. Right now their pond has overflowed, and my aunt’s house down the road has flooded.

    I’m thankful for having power, for no water in the house, and the new roof.

  34. https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1409002852888-3c5d1f64f12df02aa801901cc7c311ca/how_to_prepare_flood_033014_508.pdf

    This has after the flood stuff and what to save as you move to higher ground or are required to evacuate. I would recommend if it’s not too late, to turn off your power if flood waters are in the house just to avoid potential fires/electrocution issues. Don’t go in the attic without an axe or something in case you have to break out to avoid rising water. Take a sheet and write in big letters how many people are in the home, and the address and HELP or SOS and nail it to the roof or the highest level so rescue boats and helicopters can see it.

  35. I am glad that you and yours are safe. I think of Mr. Rogers at a time like this. Look at the helpers. All of them. Thousands of them. It is healing.

  37. Having lived in Louisiana during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, & Ike, I am heartbroken seeing the flooding and suffering caused by Harvey. Thanks for reminding me that, even though I now live far away, I can help those affected.

  40. My brother’s family’s house survived in Port Aransas, and their business took on 2 feet of water. They evacuated as ordered last week, and hope to get back there to check things out later this week.

    My family — which includes a handy husband and two grown sons who can build and fix shit — has already decided that we will gather in Port A at Christmastime, and work to help whoever is in need. And make no mistake that there will still be lots of need.

    #dowhatyoucan

  41. It’s incredible the way a nation comes together after a disaster. People saw Hurricane Sandy, but that was two categories below what Harvey was when it hit landfall. I was in Maryland when Hurricane Isabell hit. We didn’t get flooding, but it destroyed a lot of things in our neighborhood and in the neighboring areas (like the Harve De Grace boardwalk I loved so much). I’m right with you on the wanting to airlift people out. I feel so bad for all of the outside animals who had to endure this.

  42. Jenny, I’m a mom of a severely disabled little girl who is also medically fragile and cannot imagine living my life in Texas right now. It would horrible regardless, but when I think of the level of daily physical and medical care my daughter requires just to stay alive and try to imagine our house flooding, it’s overwhelming. Any ideas on how and/or websites to help families who have members with disabilities (I’m thinking gtube equipment supplies, gloves, underpads, diapers, wipes, even medical equipment)? Continued prayers for Texas!

  45. Thank you for the links – feel a little less helpless with avenues to offer help in different ways it is needed. Stay safe Texas.
    JP

  46. I’m in the Meyerland neighborhood of Houston. While our house remained dry, we were literally an island in the huge lake that used to be our street. We have 22 people (including 9 kids), 7 dogs, 1 cat and 1 bearded lizard bunking with us. My husband and I waded in waist-deep water going back and forth to neighbors’ houses to bring them back here, dragging whatever we could carry in garbage bags and coolers. We have people sleeping on cots, air mattresses and the floor. Our friends have lost almost everything they own. And not one single person, from age 1 to 85, has uttered a single word of complaint. They keep thanking us, as if they wouldn’t have done the same thing if the situation were reversed. I’m so thankful we have a dry place to offer, and everyone is safe. I’m so thankful for all the people all around the country who are thinking of us, sending prayers and donations. Thank you, all of you, for doing what you can to help my neighbors.

  47. Seconding Team Rubicon. Not only do they go into disasters to help, their volunteer base is primarily veterans who need a purpose again. To feel needed and to be helpful after leaving the military. A donation gives double the benefit to them. Teamrubiconusa.org.

  48. Glad you are safe. I have 1 friend in Woodlands who is safe (so far) but with an evacuation plan if needed Thanks for the links.

  51. I’ve been reading that instead of donating actual items it’s better to send the money to your charity of choice, they can often get a better price on the items needed, and they can buy as needed instead of trying to store a bunch of stuff that may not be used right away. I mean, obviously do what you can, but sometimes money is the answer.

  52. motherofbugsys is absolutely right – only donate stuff when an organization has an explicit need (i.e. diapers for the diaper bank, etc) otherwise money is the #1 most important thing in an acute disaster situation.
    – Many nonprofits can buy the things they need wholesale and can get more with the money than you can buying things directly
    – Donations of items like used clothes or random food that show up in disaster areas require volunteer manpower to sort and identify whether the donated items can be used at all, those volunteers are needed more urgently elsewhere
    – When nonprofits spend the donated funds on disaster relief, they most often go through local companies/stores/restaurants/service providers/distributors to make these purchases which has a larger impact on helping the economy of the area bounce back faster

  54. Red Cross: People have pointed out that one can earmark their donation to be used specifically for Harvey victims. There’s been some saddening press on the Red Cross mis-allocating funds that appears to be true. Please do your own research.

    Another organization of Veterans is one I greatly admire: Team Rubicon. Here’s their website https://teamrubiconusa.org

    If you’re in SoCal, you may know we’ve already sent a team of firefighters from our state to go help. Donating to them goes right to on-the-ground Harvey help, too.

    Lastly, it’s another hard truth that people falsely claim to be “helping” but are taking money instead. Be vigilant! Use established agencies and caution your church groups or organizations to do the same.

  55. I feel so helpless watching all this but at least I can answer one question.
    Kate#20 – the National Hurricane Center says “a strict procedure has been established by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.” And then they explain the system.
    http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames_history.shtml

    PS I predict the name Harvey is being retired right about now.

  56. Thank you for posting, Jenny. I donated and hopefully it will help a little.
    Also, the Houston Food Bank is currently closed but the San Antonio Food Bank is coordinating donations for the area(explained in link you posted), so I donated to them instead since they can likely get the funds allocated faster. Hugs to all affected, please if anyone local knows anything else we can hive mind help with let us know! I will volunteer to personally help get the word out too, although admittedly my reach is not so huge 🙂 I think the main issue is that people give initially, and then forget after the media leaves an area. Recovery will be going on for a very long time-I know I am going to figure out a plan to help with more long-term stuff.

  57. Joanna, I have no experience with the organization, but I saw Portlight (www.portlight.org) on a list as a place that is helping people with disabilities who were affected by Harvey.

  58. Best Friends is sending a disaster response team; they will be working with Code-3 Associates on animal rescue. Both are accepting donations.

    Best Friends will also be sending out a call to their registered volunteers, especially those with animal handling experience, once they’re on the ground and have a sense of what’s needed.

  59. Best Friends Animal Society is a fantastic organization. They helped animals displaced after Hurricane Katrina. They are on the ground in Houston. bestfriends.org

  60. Thank you, Jenny for helping people pull together. Because of the comments above I just donated to TeamRubicon and Austinpetsalive. I’m up in New Jersey, and everyone I know has donated, mostly to the Red Cross. You know, politicians want to divide us, but we are all one people with shared values. New Jersey ❤️ Texas!!!
    Thoughts & Prayers.

  62. It has been awful sitting here in NC, obsessively checking Facebook and sending texts trying to ascertaining if everyone I know and love is safe. Keeping all of Texas in my prayers.

    Thank you for spotlighting how people can help.

  64. Thank you to commentator 14 for the Austin Pets Alive! suggestion. I rescued my cat after flooding in upstate NY in 2011 and we were both so happy to make a donation to an animal shelter rescuing other animals (Seamus was born in a shelter, which flooded, so he had to be moved to a new shelter, so he saw a lot in his first several months of life). I love that they prioritize animals with medical issues (Seamus has a contagious kitty disorder – controlled but he cannot be with other cats, but with lots of people. which suits his fluffy, Maine Coon soul just fine). SO, thank you so much for the suggestion and prayers for good deeds to follow from so much bad news. Mr Rogers said “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

  65. Salvation Army. They, and individuals from all over, were the most helpful after we went through Hurricane Andrew.
    I have never forgotten the people who drove down from Minnesota to give us hot food in South Florida.

  66. I knew you would do this. I have been waiting for where you want us to send help.
    I don’t have a twitter account, and I would have had to get one soon, except you let us know you are O.K., so I can go back to procrastinating about it.

    Thanks so much. I am so glad your family is all right.

  67. We had a little flooding and a lot of wild critters coming into the house for higher ground. I’m exhausted from trying to get the water out of the house. Even so, it makes me feel guilty to only have a little flooding when one of my close friends is separated from her children (3, 6, & 10) while they wait in a shelter with their grandparents and she sobs on the other side of the city. It always feels like it only happens to other people. Until it doesn’t. And, then you’re just so tired it’s hard to keep pushing.

    Today, I spoke with my mom on the phone and she told me everyone who didn’t evacuate was stupid and it’s our own fault. I can’t even make her understand. Even if there wasn’t the “shelter in place” edict, being a judgmental asshole doesn’t help anyone. It just causes suffering people more pain. So, if we could all just be kind to one another, especially now, that would jut make this a little more bearable.

    (Love my mom; hate judgmental assholeism.)

  69. Don’t forget to check with your employer about matching gifts. My employer just announced today that they will match employee donations for Harvey relief through 3 channels.

  71. savethechildren.org is working to provide family friendly spaces for evacuees. Cribs in shelters, trained childcare, counselors, etc.

  73. I donated to the Houston Food Bank with an employer match in donation. The Food Bank makes 3 meals out of $1!

  75. Praying for you guys. I live in North Jersey and I remember how surreal it was duringIrene and Sandy to read your posts because life was upside down here and so normal there. But normal will return… eventually. (On a plus side, I got my house for a song five years after Irene because the basement had flooded.)

  76. Donated to Portlight bc I know how extra hard it is to cope when you have special needs, and to Austin Pets Alive bc when Katrina happened, it broke my heart that people had to leave their pets behind. At the time I had a furry family member with multiple medical issues, and I could not see me ever leaving him behind (he wouldn’t have gone feral and survived, he’d have been dead within days without his meds). I still tear up thinking about it.

    Half my country is below sea level. I feel for you all so, so very much <3

  79. I’m so glad you’re doing okay, but my heart is breaking for everyone affected. Just made a donation to Red Cross and I’ll keep trying to do what I can.

  80. I live in IL and there’s a business in the same town I work in that’s sending a truck down to TX with donations from local residents and businesses. A coworker and I sent out an email yesterday about what is most urgently needed (diapers/wipes, new socks/underwear feminine products, hygiene items) and just 18 hours in, we already have $60 towards the goods, plus items coming in from our sales reps and colleagues.

    Even if you don’t have funds but are healthy and can donate blood, summer is always a critical time for blood banks. Each pint that is donated helps 3 people in need.

    We can’t do everything, but everyone can do SOMETHING. Go Team Bloggess!

  82. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/inside-story-what-took-keep-texas-grocery-chain-running-chip-cutter

    The inside story of what it took to keep HEB running in the chaos of Hurricane Harvey. I didn’t understand the significance of “chip-cutter” at the end of this URL until I realized he was the writer at Linkedin, I saw this story at: http://www.notallnewsisbad.com

    Reading this story made my cry when I think of what everyone is going through. Hooray for HEB, I had never heard of this grocery store chain until I read this blog. You are all in my thoughts and prayers and I am contributing every time I go in my local grocery stores.

  83. I sold personal electronics for a decade and what I learned is that its photos that are most precious to people. The excellent blog “Daily Kos” just published a kind and knowledgeable piece on how to save photos that got flooded.

    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/9/6/1696425/-Advice-For-Dealing-With-Flood-Damaged-Photographs

    Scanning and uploading photos to a secure server “cloud” can be a safe place to store your photos. Pick one where your data remains yours and put a huge password on it, like one of one hundred characters, to discourage hacking. Be well

  84. We just drove 7 dogs and 5 cats from their temporary shelter with Animal Rescue Corps in Tennessee to the Washington DC area. Animal Rescue Corps helped the local shelters in Beaumont and several other towns get their animals out in the wake of Harvey……www.animalrescuecorps.org

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