Keeping up flow of information WeChat groups providing lifeline for Houston’s Chinese residents
“Water has climbed to the stairs leading to the second floor. Our cars are in water and can’t be started anymore. Dear friends, sorry I can’t fulfill the appointments for the next few days, but I will do my best!”
That was a post at 5:52 am on Sunday by Zilin, a well-known makeup artist in Houston’s Chinese community, who goes by her first name.
Zilin’s apartment is located near Interstate 610 and Highway 90 in the southern section of the city. Her place is among thousands of houses and apartments affected by Hurricane Harvey, later Tropical Storm Harvey, which has caused a 500-year flood in Houston and surrounding areas in southeast Texas.
At 8:12 am, Zilin posted photos of a sofa floating in her living room. “Water has reached to my chest. We can only be rescued by boat now.”
She then pleaded for someone to save her and her family, including two young children.
Helpful messages poured in as her message was passed around WeChat groups. Many reposted her message under their own status.
At 2:09 pm, Zilin posted an update that the city and Chinese Consulate General in Houston were aware of her situation.
Water had reached her neck; they could do was wait. all on Monday in Houston, Texas.
Water has reached to my chest. We can only be rescued by boat now.”
Zilin, a well-known makeup artist in Houston’s Chinese community, who goes by her first name, in a message in a WeChat group
“There are more than 70,000 people waiting for rescue,” was one comment under the post.
Waiting it out
At 6:58 pm, she posted that helpers couldn’t get to her house as her complex is behind an iron fence with a small gate, which prevented boats from entering.
Too many others in the city waiting for rescue from the government were ahead of Zilin and her family, so they spent the night on the second floor of their house.
On Monday at 5:58 am, Zilin updated that the flood had retreated and at 8:02 am, she posted a picture from inside a truck, saying that her family was safe and on the way to a friend’s house downtown.
Zilin is one of the many Chinese living in Houston seeking help through WeChat. Similar messages have been passed around the social media website since the storm began pounding Houston with rain on Friday.
Many messages were similar to Zilin’s — seeking help to get out of their flooded houses.
Some updated their statuses after being rescued, and some didn’t.
One message sought help for three family members stranded atop their vehicle.
Another was seeking information on a 14-year-old girl, who was stuck at a friend’s house where power was out and her phone was dead.
On Sunday night, pipa virtuoso Wu Changlu posted on WeChat that her house, although dry, was within a mandatory evacuation zone near the Brazos river.
Lacking a second floor, she was looking for help to store her musical instruments.