Torrential and prolonged downpours through the week of May 22, 2016, have caused severe flooding in the Houston metropolitan area. The Governor issued a State of Disaster for nine counties on Monday, including Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fort Bend, Grimes, Harris, Montgomery, Waller and Wharton. Three million residents are in the impacted region. More than 100,000 homes have lost power, and an additional 1,000 homes have flooded in Harris County.
There are five confirmed deaths due to the flooding, and more than 1,222 water rescues have been made to save people from severe conditions. Mike Buresh, Director of Deployments and Response, made the decision to respond to this flooding event with input from Cody Walker, CEO and Felicia Walker, FCO. We put together a small team, see above. I contacted Carol Greenslate with Texas United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for possible housing options in the Magnolia, Texas area. She put me in touch with Mike Costello with Mission on Wheels. I talked with Mike about possible housing options, and he informed me Wildwood United Methodist Church would be very happy to provide our team with housing for the duration of our deployment.
Over the next eleven days, Team ROWW gutted 16 homes with 339 total volunteer hours for an average of 21 volunteer hours spent per home.
