Suburban natives in Houston describe 'surreal' flooding
Bri Murphy moved from Elgin to Houston four months ago. After the hurricane hit Saturday, she, her husband, and their 8-month-old daughter holed up in their new home.
They ventured out once for food, but all the restaurants were closed and the shelves of the local Walmart were empty, except for frozen vegetables and a stray bag of chicken wings.
The floodwater outside their home kept rising and soon the roads were impassible. Their Acura TL in the lower-level garage became submerged. When they woke up Monday morning, the water was up to their first-floor bedroom window.
Water was seeping into their house when a volunteer-driven rescue boat showed up at their front door Monday. Their neighbors were already in the boat. Murphy decided it was time to evacuate.
"It was surreal," said Murphy, who is temporarily staying with one of her husband's work colleagues. "It was, like, this can't possibly be happening."
Murphy is one of many suburban natives now living in Houston and battling the historic floods caused by Hurricane Harvey. Some, like Murphy, have been forced to evacuate their homes and stay with friends or family. Others report seeing many helicopter and boat rescues; riding paddleboards through snake- and fire ant-infested floodwater to check on neighbors; and witnessing countless heartwarming acts by good Samaritans.
Ginette Qualey, a former South Elgin resident who moved six years ago to Friendswood, Texas (between Houston and Galveston), said her family has kept an around-the-clock watch on the water level in their yard for days.
During one downpour, the water moved six inches closer to their house in just one hour. On Monday, after more than 30 inches of rain, the water came up to their front door.
"It's unthinkable. I've never seen rain like that before. It was just a torrential downfall," she said. "We have a drone photo of our neighborhood and our house is like a little island."
Since the rain stopped a few times and the water receded, she's decided not to evacuate. But the family moved everything of value to the second floor. As of Monday, they still had power.
"We're not in bad shape at all. We just can't get out (of the house)," she said. "I feel very fortunate ... but we're still fearing what's to come."
Qualey's teenagers have taken paddleboards out to check on neighbors, but she's had to warn them to keep their feet out of the water because it's filled with debris, snakes and fire ant nests.
Hilary Most, who grew up in Highland Park, has lived in Meyerland, Texas, for 14 years and endured hurricanes before. Like many people in south Texas, she questioned whether the coming storm was overhyped. Turns out, it was not. This is the worst flooding she's ever seen, but as of Monday the family was still at home.
"I don't know one person whose house didn't flood," she said.
During the storm's peak, city officials urged people not to call 911 unless it was a life or death situation. If your house was flooding, they said, go on the roof.
"But how are you supposed to get on your roof? Plus, there were tornado warnings every 15 minutes," said Most, who has children ages 7, 5 and 3.
At one point, her husband opened the front door to look outside as a boat zoomed past, creating a wake of water that went into their front entrance.
Jeremy Sorkin, a Northbrook native who's lived in Bellaire, Texas, for 20 years, said it's been scary to see roads turn into rivers, but also heartwarming to see people doing so much to help and look after each other.
"You look around and think, we have what we really need. We can replace other stuff," he said. "We've been lucky."
Among those offering to help was the men's soccer team from Carthage College in Kenosha, which includes several players from the Northwest suburbs. In Houston for a tournament, which was canceled, team members were stranded in the same hotel where the Red Cross set up operations. They offered to help, but instead, the Red Cross and police helped get them out of town, freeing up their 20 hotel rooms.
"It was a trip they'll never forget," head coach Steve Domin said.
How to help
• Red Cross is accepting donations at <a href="https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey?campname=Harvey&campmedium=aspot">redcross.org</a> or by texting "Harvey" to 90999.
• Global Giving Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund has set a $2 million donation goal at <a href="https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-harvey-relief-fund/">globalgiving.org</a>.
• United Way Houston Chapter is accepting donations at <a href="https://www.unitedwayhouston.org/flood/flood-donation/">unitedwayhouston.org/flood/flood-donation/</a>.
• SPCA of Texas is coordinating pet evacuations and accepting donations at <a href="https://spca.org/give">spca.org/give</a>.
• GOFUNDME is grouping Harvey related causes at <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/hurricaneharvey">gofundme.com/hurricaneharvey</a>.
• The Salvation Army is collecting donations at <a href="https://give.salvationarmyusa.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app362b?idb=527205110&df_id=27651&mfc_pref=T&27651.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=3C7B405C4EB5790D4BC28E9211598F8B&utm_campaign=Texas%20Hurricane&utm_medium=banner&cm_mc_sid_51410000=1503955784&cm_mc_uid=79933398744515039557849">salarmychicago.org</a>, by telephone at (800) 725-2769 or by texting "STORM" to 51555.
• Jewish Federation Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund at <a href="https://donate.juf.org/HurricaneHarvey">juf.org/HurricaneHarvey</a>.
• Paws In Time is collecting donations for humans and pets at its two locations at 456 Treasure Drive in Oswego and 1891 E. Fabyan Parkway in West Chicago.
• Embrace Relief is launching a Harvey relief campaign at <a href="http://embracerelief.org/harvey/">embracerelief.org/harvey/</a>.
• The David Agency Insurance in Elmhurst is collecting clothing and personal items to ship by truck to Texas by the end of this week. Items should be brought between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. by Sept. 1 to the agency's Elmhurst office at 385 N. York Road. Donations of empty shipping boxes also are needed.
• The city of Naperville and the advisory board of the Chicago Salvation Army are hosting a meeting at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Naperville municipal center, 400 S. Eagle St., to discuss how to help after Harvey, how to begin long-term relief efforts and how to avoid scams.