World Jewish News

Jewish community of Houston impacted by flooding from Hurricane Harvey

The city of Houston, Texas, which is home to a large Jewish population, is facing heavy flooding from Hurricane Harvey which is now a tropical storm. JTA reported that dozens of Jewish families in the city were either evacuated or moved to the second floors of their homes due to flooding. .

According to a statement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, “parts of our community have been impacted by the severe weather of the past two days. We are working with our partner agencies to assess the current situation in our community and determine priority on action items.”

“We will communicate out as soon as we know how best to move forward in the short and long-term. If you are concerned about your safety or in immediate danger, contact local authorities. Stay safe and exercise caution in the coming days as rain and inclement weather conditions are expected to continue.”

Chabad Coastal Bend — which is based in Corpus Christi, near where Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Friday night — said it was “gearing up to provide essential relief to our friends and neighbors who have been severely impacted.”

“Volunteers are being fielded to provide critical supplies such as water, generators, gift cards from home repair stores and support to the residents in the hardest hit areas of Padre Island in Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Rockport and the surrounding areas,” it continued. “Please donate in any way you can. We are in need of supplies and funds to ensure we can help as many people as possible and as soon as possible.”

Houston — home to a large Jewish population — is experiencing heavy flooding from Harvey as it lingers in the area, now as a tropical storm.

The Houston Jewish community center remained closed on Sunday. Prior to the hurricane it collected emergency supplies for the community including bottled water, work gloves, packing supplies, plastic storage bins, heavy trash bags, heavy-duty razor blades to rip out wet and damaged carpet, cleaning supplies and gift cards for home repair stores and grocery stores, according to the Texas Jewish Herald-Voice.

EJP