210,000 people so far have registered for FEMA assistance
24,000 National Guard Members have been activated to assist with the rescue
----------Due to a National Emergency, I will not be posting immediately over my first Washington DC trip.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane at 11:00PM Friday August 25th, and was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane by 4:00AM August 26th. (For those of you who do not know, I landed in Texas mid-afternoon August 25th, was late leaving DC at 6AM and went through Chicago on another flight)
The most important thing for everyone that is here in Texas with us, and those that are supporting our evacuation and emergency efforts from outside of the state, is that, everyone is safe, and everyone works together, and everyone is taken care of, & that means that those of us who have done this before with other hurricanes and are calm during the storm, also recognize that, it is different when you are assisting the needs of tragedies from your neighbors, such as what we did during Hurricane Katrina, and when we are working with partners outside of our norm, because we are in the middle of the storm.
While I do not live on the coast of Texas, I have had reunions there with property that is located in the path of this storm, and from my vision observing these Aerial maps and weather patters, places I have lived in other parts of the path of the storm, Houston, Texas, Austin Texas, San Antonio, Texas, will all be affected, and I have been known to be caught on local/national television sinking my car trying to make it around water barricades, as an early teenager/adult. That was not during a hurricane, but it was during a bad storm.
Flooding from a hurricane, can kill you, even if it is not immediately, because, water levels may rise after the hurricane is downgraded, and the storm continues and sits at a lower category, because of how slow it is moving.
Hurricanes are classified by their strength of winds, rainfall, damage they may cause, tornadoes that may spring off and occur as a spin off result, & their width. Many factors contribute to how a hurricane is formed, including environmental factors, from emissions that we burn a hole through the layer of our ozone atmosphere from gas from our car exhaust, and oil dependency, which is why we have other laws in place to not only protect humans, but to protect the environment as well, and everyone is moving towards having both options of gas dependent cars, hybrids, that have both gas and electric, and electric cars.
No one person is at fault for a hurricane, and hurricanes have been occurring before man made their dominance over the planet earth, so while it is important to not melt the ice caps, it is also important, to be there for each other as human beings, without fighting over who cause the hurricane, and remember that we have evidence from hundred of years back, that show paths that these hurricanes like to form, which is why we know it is so important to monitor the changes in the environment and weather patters, to know in advance, how we can evacuate, and keep everyone safe, in the event of a natural disaster.
There will be people who are panicked, feel hopeless, have lost everything, & need assistance, not only from FEMA, or the Red Cross, but other agencies, churches, synagogues, mosques, Goodwill, Salvation Army, food banks, clothing drives, monetary relief, and therapy for being talked through this event, until everyone is safe, and has the ability to return home safe.
Rivers may be contaminated with sewage and be unsafe to return to land, some of that land on farmers ranches may turn into marshes temporarily.
For more information about how you can get help for yourself, or if you want to volunteer to help others, please contact an agency that has experience dealing with natural disasters, and be sure to share information with your local media outlets, within your social media circles, as to whatever logistics and resources you have available for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
State of Texas Declared as an Emergency by President Trump at the request of Governor Abbott
https://emergency.portal.texas.gov/
http://www.211.org/
https://www.fema.gov/ 1 (800) 621-3362
http://www.redcross.org/ 1-800-RED CROSS
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ 1 (800) 728-7825
http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/traffic/safety/weather/hurricane.html
(800) 452-9292.
Animals in need of assistance from displacement
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/emergency/
http://www.houstonemergency.org/harvey/
http://austintexas.gov/help
http://www.sanantonio.gov/Commpa/News/ArtMID/1970/ArticleID/11237/Update-on-City-of-San-Antonio-Bexar-County-Preparations-for-Hurricane-Harvey
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-declares-state-of-disaster-for-30-texas-counties-in-anticip
COUNTIES
Aransas, Austin, Bee, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Brazoria, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Liberty, Live Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Waller, Wharton and Wilson counties.
Hurricane Harvey—Safety Preparations | NASA
Residents of Texas in the United States should be making preparations for Hurricane Harvey now. Go to this Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Website for valuable tips: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
National Hurricane Center (U.S.)
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Credit: NASA
Release Date: August 24, 2017
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