Also, if it is within your budget consider helping out with a monetary donation. Having lived through such an event I know how important that help is too. It took me years to recover and I will never forget the kindness of others.

We, here in NW Florida, have been praying for the people in Texas before Harvey hit the shores. We have seen many pictures and the flooding is epic, the people without power is massive. And there are predictions that Harvey may turn and go into the Gulf picking up strength and hit Houston again. So please keep the prayers going and the donations too. These folks in Texas also hosted so many of the people from New Orleans after the dikes failed during the Katrina hurricane.

I"m safe. We have no water damage from the storm

This blurb from CBS is so useful. When we had the Butte Fire here (70,868 acres burned and 921 structures lost in 2015) so many people went on a rampage against the Red Cross for not letting them wander in to evacuation centers (really - if you stayed at one wouldn’t you be happy for security) and drop off their used stuff. The Red Cross hands out packets of new things which they buy with money. Even new and made stuff can become problematic as the news blurb shows. Money is what really helps as QueenofHearts mentions. Being local, we were connected and able to get new quilts, pillowcases and totes (people need to carry their belongings about if they lost their homes) to people - but even then had too many quilts and the people handing them out were just driving up - “here take 6 quilts”. But if you’re not close enough to deliver, then the almost $20 for a Priority box to mail the stuff is a MUCH better gift. The hardest part comes after the evacuation centers close. FEMA will only install temporary trailers on land with the right hookups installed (because there are batteries and things in your home, each site had to have a hazardous waste cleanup first, get well and hookups working.. the fire here was in Sept 2015 and the last home sites to have hazardous waste removal so building there or trailers could proceed was May 2016). When people say recovery is slow, I think most have no idea how slow. Those FEMA trailers don’t show up for 6 months and even then, they made a huge deal about delivering their first 4 (talk about not a dent in the need). So many folks will put effort into so many things people can’t use in the coming months, it’s sad. For stitchers, the absolute best we had was someone making a quilt and raffling it off - it brought in over $700.00 and the cash can be used by so many different really helpful agencies. If many become moved to stitch for the disaster - we were telling folks to do some research and find somewhere local that would like their donations. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-disaster-relief-brings-anything-but-relief/

I am safe yall please keep Sonia Showalter in prayers she is in the Woodlands and it is devastated. prayers for all

Toogie, I am in Texas, but in the Amarillo area, and other than a lot of extra rain, we are fine... No flooding, etc. Praying for all the ones that are in the lower parts of Texas!!! Thanx for caring Cuties!!! Hugs & Prayers for all... Judy.

Thank you Toogie for reminding us of things we can do to help. Praying everyone is safe.

Prayers are being sent from downunder. It's just devastating watching all the damage that Harvey has done. I hope everyone is safe and dry. Thankyou to all those personnel who are out in the thick of it saving lives. Love Chris

I am in central Texas and had no problems from the weather. I think Duchess is around San Antonio and so should be ok. This event is not over yet and will cause issues for months to come. Houston is devastated and still raining. Haven't heard about SE Louisiana. Prayers are always welcome. Hugs. Nan W

Thank you, Toogie, for starting this post.......I have been so worried about all the people in the line of fire from this storm........I pray everyone is safe with their loved ones soon!!!

I've been praying for all of them. Two of my dear friends have daughters living in the San Antonio area and although they were not the worst hit, there is severe amounts of water in their area and everyone is trying to help their fellow Texans. Possibly the most heartbreaking photo I've seen is a a nursing home where the residents were sitting in the gathering room with water up to their chests. How terrifying that must have been. Donations can be made through the American Red Cross site if you led to do so.

I don't see many posts from the worst hit areas. Rockport, TX got the brunt of the damaging winds, I believe. We were too busy prepping to watch much coverage. Houston has been devastated by large areas of flooding. There were so many folks there that had to be rescued by boat from their homes as they had no way to get out. We saw a news report on one family whose home was flooded and had it catch on fire as well, before they were brought to safety. So many are at least temporarily homeless that shelters were filling up and they sent some by bus to Galveston to be flown to Dallas. The 2 airports in Houston are closed for now.

We are in Lake Jackson, TX staying with some friends from our church. Lake Jackson is surrounded by a levee and we feel that they have past the danger area. Our home is outside the levee area and flooded last summer and may flood again this time, hence the prep work we were doing earlier. Currently it is above water, but we live by a body of water that is fed by the Brazos river, which is above flood stage up river. Our situation depends on whether the rain water that we've had can drain before the river crest reaches our area sometime tomorrow. We had a lot of rain and the bayou is close to our foundation.
We were planning to evacuate out of the county, but by the time we were ready to go, there was only one route left because of all the surrounding flooding and there were reports that parts of that route were starting to flood. We were afraid by the time we got there it would be impassable, so made arrangements to stay here. As bad as all this sounds, we are doing quite well. Our hosts have been wonderful and we are actually having quite a nice time, except for the concern for our home and our cats are not too keen on being in a house with a large dog.

Thank you to all for your concern, but pray especially for those in Houston suffering from horrendous flooding, like Sonia Showalter and those in Rockport who were hit by devastating winds.

ttt-Mairahail still hasn't checked in, nor the Dutchess, but mrskiki thinks thedutchess should be okay where she is located. Cuties from these areas let us know if at all possible, we are praying for you all.

I am from Oak Grove, LA. Being in the N/E corner of Louisiana, we are only expecting wind and rain. Along with you Cuties, continueing to pray for all those in Texas and South Louisiana getting the worse of Harvey. God bless you cuties! Toogie, you are still an inspiration to me!!!

TTT hoping some others will see and check in still. Hugs. Nan W

Hi, Cuties! I am relatively new to being a cutie, but saw this post and was touched. I am in Orange, Texas and I am disabled and live with my mom. Fortunately, the water came up and stranded us in our home without power, water, etc... for about a week. We were very blessed as the water did some damage, stranded us, and came very close but did not get inside our home. However, our friends, family, neighbors were not all so lucky. It is devastating how much damage has been done. It is heartbreaking to see my loved ones so down about what has been lost and is irreplaceable. There are mounds of trash all along the road reminding us daily of everything lost.
One positive happened today... my nephews were due to start school the Monday the storm impacted us, but have finally started school TODAY. The local schools were severely flooded and still require major construction. For the youngest of the 2 boys, it is his first ever day of school. He kept telling me that the world didn't want him to ever go to school. Poor guy! However, locals devised a plan that split schools to fit among non-school facilities that can house a classroom, revising classroom schedules, etc... and whatever it takes to get all these kids back into school. Please pray my nephews have the best ever first day of school today.
Thank you!
-Kay