After nearly a foot of rain fell on Houston and nearby parts of Texas on Monday night, World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS) has deployed an early response team that was in the area to begin to make critical contacts, assess flooding, and gauge damage to homes and businesses in affected areas.

“We are in contact with government officials, community representatives, and other voluntary organizations that respond to disasters,” says World Renew DRS Director Ronald Willett. “As the flood water recedes, we will be working to coordinate within the response. We’ll focus on reaching out to those who are elderly, disabled, live in poverty and are without insurance, or are otherwise unable to recover from a disaster like this on their own.”

In its current Spring Storms 2015 response, World Renew DRS is assisting homeowners after an April tornado in Fairdale, Illinois, and two tornadoes that hit Moore and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in March 2015. Just two years ago, a devastating EF-5 tornado hit Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 more.

…more than 1,000 homes are thought to be under water in the storm area, at least 21 people have died and many more are missing.

This month’s heavy rainfall in Oklahoma and Texas creates a different type of threat, Willett says.

The national weather service issued a flash flood emergency when 11 inches of rain fell in Houston during Memorial Day alone, bringing the total rainfall in some parts of Texas to 20 inches since May 1. Rivers, spillways, reservoirs, and dams are at flood level in Hayes County, Corpus Christi, South Texas, and along the Oklahoma-Texas border. Some homeowners in Wichita were evacuated last week, and about 100 homes in Nueces County were cut off by a release of water from the Wesley Seale Dam. In all, more than 1,000 homes are thought to be under water in the storm area, at least 21 people have died and many more are missing.

In addition to early response coordination, World Renew DRS is exploring the need to deploy rapid response volunteers into the flooded areas as soon as they are accessible. These initial volunteers help homeowners by clearing trees and debris from their property, providing basic roof repairs, and checking on the safety of residents in their homes. More rain is expected in Texas later this week after a 4-year drought.

“We will be sending a second early response team next week,” Willett says. “These will teams provide contact points with residents and representatives as the response progresses in Texas and Oklahoma.”

Give today to support World Renew's response to the floods in Texas and Oklahoma.

Or mail your check, marked "Spring Storms 2015", to…

World Renew US
1700 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Tel: 1-800-552-7972

World Renew Canada
3475 Mainway
PO Box 5070 STN LCD
Burlington, ON  L7R 3Y8
Tel: 1-800-730-3490

article updated: 4:00 AM EST, 5/28/2015
 

PHOTO TOP: Bill Taylor helps clean and remove debris from the interior of a friend's flood damaged home in San Marcos, Texas May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa