Houston looks to Astros for some needed comfort

flooding, which inundated some areas with more than 50 inches of rain in late August.

Officials have estimated that more than 136,000 homes and structures were damaged by Harvey in Harris County, which includes Houston.

Officials say it will be months before all of the debris covering many front lawns is removed.

Nearly 100 people still remain in an American Red Cross shelter in Houston and nearly 9,000 families in Harris County who were displaced by Harvey are still living in hotels.

Mary Daulong, 69, said she and her husband — who temporarily are living in an apartment — have scheduled their rebuilding activities at their home around Astros games.

“We would work here until it was dark. Now we cannot. Whatever time the Astros come on, is when we stop working here,” she said.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said in the aftermath of Harvey, the Worlds Series isn’t just about the Astros.

“Quite frankly, they are carrying the city on their shoulders and on their backs and in their mitts,” said Turner.

“The storm may have come, but it hasn’t dampened our spirit, our enthusiasm.”

Astros manager A.J. Hinch said the team understands its responsibility to represent Houston and bring awareness “to the things that are needed to rebuild our great city.”

“It gives the city something to rally around and gives people something to cheer for that otherwise may not have a lot to be hopeful for,” Astros pitcher Justin Verlander said.

Houston resident Tom Flores, 70, said while cheering on the Astros in the World Series won’t make up for people losing their homes, it still gives people some hope.

“I got friends of mine who lost their home and everything but they are still Astros fans and this does take a little bit of the sadness off,” he said.

An event such as the World Series can be a powerful source of motivation for a community dealing with adversity in hard times, said Tim Bono, a lecturer in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at Washington University in St. Louis.

“It’ll be important for people in Houston to continue to direct attention toward that and say, ‘Hey, look how we all came together to cheer on our sports team. Let’s continue to do that to support each other and to especially direct resources ... for those areas that still need our help in recovering from the aftermath of the hurricane,” Bono said.

Paul Daulong said the Astros provided a good example for the community by going through their own rebuilding process after several losing seasons.

“We have totally put the Astros ahead of the problems that are occurring right now,” he said.

“We just gotta keep our heads up and make sure that just like the Astros are going to come through against the Dodgers, we’ll make it back as well as we can.”