Disaster Relief

During Harvey, WoodsEdge served 96 families that were victims of this powerful hurricane. We want to be ready for the next time families are impacted by disasters, large or small. We will do this with a standing team of well-trained volunteers with set roles to perform in case of disaster.  

 

Action Steps

What We Do

Our team is set up to provide immediate relief and support to families after disasters affecting the home. 

 

We will provide skills, information, and service with a goal to, as much as possible, get the homes to a point of safe, sanitary and secure.  The intent is to protect the house and its contents from further damage that could occur if left in its current condition, prior to a construction contractor being hired by the homeowner to restore the house to its original condition.   Other assistance we will provide could extend to meals for affected families, spiritual support and comfort and other compassion assistance.

At this time, our aim is to serve WoodsEdge members and our surrounding community in The Woodlands/Spring area.

Volunteer Information

We are in need of volunteers to assist with the planning and leadership of the disaster recovery team.  Roles we are especially in need of currently are:

Construction – Team Leaders and team members to actually perform the work on damaged houses

Procurement Coordinator – Works with the Construction Coordinator and Partnering Coordinator in order to ensure our teams have the supplies needed.

Case Managers – The initial responder to a disaster relief need and a continuing advocate for the homeowner.

Partnering – Communicates with other churches and disaster relief organizations as necessary to support the team.

Information Technology – Maintains and supports the rest of the team in all of the various IT functions used.

Communications – Communications team leader plus various other roles involved in the effective communication of the team during an emergency.

Meals – Meals Team Leader and various roles on the team to provide meals when necessary during an emergency.

If you are interested in serving and have the gifting, passion, and skills for one of these roles, we would love to work with you. please contact the team at 

Flooding History In Houston

According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, there were 96 days with at least one report of flooding in Harris Country from 1996 through 2015.  

This equates to an average of 4-5 days of flooding each year over that time period.

Though there are many flooding events that affect only smaller areas, here are some notable flooding events in addition to Harvey:

  • April 2016 “Tax Day” Flood:  Up to 17 inches of rain fell on April 18th.  More than 1,800 water rescues were performed and the damage cost was estimated at $2.7 billion
  • Memorial Day 2015:  Most freeways were flooded along with many homes.  It was said that this flooding was the worst since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.
  • April 28, 2009:  Over 2,100 homes flooded, freeways impassable.
  • June 19, 2006:  Up to 11 inches of rain in southern and eastern Harris County flooded 3,000 homes.
  • Tropical Storm Allison:
  • Late Summer/Fall 1998:  Three separate flood events flooded at least 2,700 homes.  The first event on September 11 was from Tropical Storm Frances.
  • October 17-21, 1994:  Over 22,000 homes flooded.  At least $900 million in damage and 17 killed.

Hurricane Preparation

It is easy to ignore the possibility of disaster because normally it doesn’t happen.  But if it DOES happen, preparation well in advance can make a world of difference in life after the event.  Please be proactive.  The following articles are good sources of information to prepare your family”.