United Orthodox Synagogues damaged by 3 feet of water.
Agency offers aid after worst flooding since Allison devastates parts of neighborhood
Water from the muddy Brays Bayou was knee-deep at United Orthodox Synagogues on Wednesday, more than a day after the bayou spilled out of its banks in the deluge of hourslong storms.
Workers bustled through the interior of the southwest side synagogue, at one point saturated by as much as 3 feet of water, trying to assess — and minimize — damage caused by the worst flooding since Tropical Storm Allison swamped the city 14 years ago.
At Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue several miles to the west, up to a foot of water filled the sanctuary’s lowest three aisles and poured into a sub-basement containing the structure’s mechanical equipment.
All along the waterway’s course Wednesday, residential sidewalks were festooned with ruined carpets and furniture. Businesses, too, were flooded, notably an H-E-B Pantry supermarket near the bayou at Chimney Rock Road, and the iconic Three Brothers Bakery, which has occupied its South Braeswood Boulevard site for more than 50 years.
As residents and institutions grappled with the aftermath of the eight or more inches of rain that drenched the area this week, Jewish Family Services began establishing an Internet clearinghouse for those who need help and those who can provide it.
“We are ready to help all people, especially those most vulnerable who live in Meyerland, Willow Meadows and surrounding areas,” said agency executive director Linda Burger. “In addition to crisis counseling, we can help people get basic services that they need in order to repair their homes and get
back on their feet.”
This week’s Brays Bayou flooding was the southwest side’s worst since Tropical Storm Allison paralyzed the city with 36 inches of rain in June 2001.
Allison’s rampage brought about 3 feet of water into United Orthodox Synagogues, 9001 Greenwillow, damaging the temple’s recently renovated sanctuary and about 12 Montessori school classrooms. Hundreds of prayer books and religious texts were destroyed.
“God didn’t like the colors,” then-Rabbi Joseph Radinsky quipped, alluding to the temple’s new beige-and-navy renovation. “He wanted us to have different colors.”
This week’s flooding proved equally harrowing — for both Radinsky, now rabbi emeritus, and the synagogue. Yeshiva World News reported Radinsky’s neighbors rescued Radinsky from his flooded residence by canoe. On seeing a photo of the rescue on the Web, Radinsky remarked, “Thanks for the beautiful picture. I guess I took quite a paddling. It was an either oar proposition.”
At the temple Wednesday, congregation president Max Reichenthal said the most severe damage again occurred in the sanctuary. As a result of the inundation, he said, the worship center’s 300plus theater-syle seats will likely need to be replaced. Water also invaded the synagogue library, where books on the lowest level of shelves lining the room were destroyed. Bibles and prayer books in the sanctuary also were destroyed, but the synagogue’s Torahs were rescued.
Water also damaged Montessori classrooms. Reichenthal said other area schools and synagogues have offered the use of classrooms for the rest of the school year, which ends next week.
While sanctuary repair takes place, Reichenthal said, synagogue services will be held in the temple’s undamaged Freedman Hall.
Reichenthal said the building was insured, but synagogue officials are not certain the insurance will cover the cost of all damage.
Jason Dobrolecki, spokesman for the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, 5601 N. Braeswood, said that facility sustained water damage to it’s racquetball court. The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston’s Merfish Teen Center, Rice at North Braeswood, also “took on some water,” he said.
Pat Pollicoff, congregation president at Beth Israel, said damage at her synagogue centered on the sanctuary’s lowest aisles and the sub-basement. Scheduled activities, including fifth-grade graduation ceremonies and a lecture, will be held in undamaged portions of the temple, she said.
Pollicoff said this week’s inundation marked the first time the temple has flooded. It has been situated in the 5600 block of North Braeswood since 1967.
Other bayou-area structures had a wetter history.
Robert Jucker, one of the three brother-owners of Three Brothers Bakery at 4036 S. Braeswood, said his business was flooded by Allison and de-roofed by Hurricane Ike in 2008. This time, about three feet of bayou water poured into production areas at the shop’s rear. “We’re closed,” he said. “We’re not baking bread. We’re pumping water, trying to assess the extent of the damage.” On Wednesday, Jucker said it was uncertain whether the store’s freezer and other equipment would have to be replaced.
In the Meyerland area, about a foot of water filled the aisles of H-E-B Pantry, which has occupied its Chimney Rock Road site since 1992, said H-E-B spokeswoman Cyndy Garza-Roberts. As a result, she said, all the food items in the store will be discarded.