Flood recovery efforts continue in county
Neighborhood south of Woodlands was among hardest hit by rainfall
As Montgomery County begins to dry out after torrential rains drenched the region last week, the community has mobilized to start down the road to recovery.
Nearly 60 people slept in the South County Community Center on Lake Robbins Drive — a designated Red Cross shelter — last Thursday night as they waited for the water flooding their homes to recede, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack said. About 200 homes — 120 of those in south county — were reported to have taken in water as of last Thursday after the county was hit by about 15 inches of rain since Sunday night, said Cynthia Jamieson, homeland security planner for the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Among the hardest hit areas was the Timber Lakes-Timber Ridge subdivision just south of The Woodlands, where some residents fled feet of water swelling into their homes early on April 18. On the east side of Interstate 45, about a dozen homes near Spring Hills and Spring Forrest Drives also experienced flooding, Noack said.
Officials said Thursday that they expected the worst of the weather had past and intended to focus on moving forward with the recovery.
To streamline the pro-
cess, community leaders mobilized MC-CARES, Montgomery County — Community Assistance Recovery Efforts and Services — a collaborative effort pooling resources from the various community assistance organizations.
Interfaith of The Woodlands, a local nonprofit group, is one of the organizations coordinating assistance by providing those affected by the storm with clothing, food, water and, in some cases, temporary housing and financial assistance.
“People have lost everything,” said Missy Herndon, chief executive officer of Interfaith.
But as great as the need is, Herndon said that the local community has responded with equal generosity.
“We’ve had an overwhelming, wonderful response from our community wanting to give food, bottled water, cleaning products … wanting to give time,” she said.
Interfaith is asking for monetary donations as well as new undergarments, socks, shoes, nonperishable food, bottled water, baby and personal hygiene care items and household and cleaning supplies.
The Montgomery County Food Bank is also working to provide meals for the storm victims, asking for $10 donations, as well as easy-to-eat and singleserving meals and basic hygiene products.
“This community is so amazing about rallying around each other to help wherever there is a need,” Herndon said.
Noack said that, with the help of the churches — including Sawdust Road Baptist Church, which volunteered its facilities as a shelter — and the various local charitable organizations, the victims have received immediate assistance.
“We’ve been fortunate to meet the needs of the residents: food, water, shelter, basic needs,” Noack said.
Looking beyond immediate relief efforts, county officials hope that the federal government will follow Judge Craig Doyal’s and Gov. Greg Abbott’s leads in declaring the storm a disaster, making victims eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid.
In the meantime, the county is asking those affected by the storm to register with the Red Cross and to fill out a damage assessment, which is available at the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management website, mctxoem.org.