Brazos River Flood Recovery: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

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COVER STORY | By M.G. Angulo –

The historic cresting of the Brazos River in June brought a fear-imbued awe to residents throughout Fort Bend County.  The mere fact it was happening, and nothing could stop it, was almost unbelievable. It was Memorial Day weekend when a heavy anxiety settled on the shoulders of city officials who knew the Brazos River would crest to the highest level ever recorded in Fort Bend County, eradicating the 50.3 foot record set in 1994.

That weekend, days before the historic crest, Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert pleaded with the public to be prepared: “This is a serious incident with a strong potential for an unprecedented 100-year flood event. Residents must consider the potential impact to their lives, their property and their mobility before water levels rise and it is too late.”

The knowledge of possible flooding, however, was on officials’ minds as early as April, which is when Hebert signed a disaster declaration for the county in response to the significant rain already seen in the area. “Fort Bend County residents need to understand the severity of this incident,” Hebert said about the declaration signed on April 18th. “This is not a normal rain storm like we’re all used to dealing with. This situation is severe, and an abundance of caution is required of us all.”

True to the conjectures, the Brazos River made its highest crest ever at 54.74 feet on June 2nd affecting 50,000 residents in Fort Bend, as well as 16.81 percent of the county. As the rushing waters began to rise swallowing streets, lawns, barriers and the wheels of vehicles, creating an eerie water world, many residents had no choice but to abandon their homes and properties, and as they sought safer grounds, they watched helplessly as the everyday makings of their lives disappeared beneath the murky water.

Although families faced losses unlike anything they had experienced before, they also were embraced by members of their own community devoted to helping them reclaim a sense of normalcy.

In Recovery Mode

On Saturday, June 4th, two days after the historic cresting, community leaders united to create Brazos River Flood Recovery, a county-wide hub of organizations assisting and providing relief with B. F. Terry High School in Rosenberg as its headquarters.

Former Rosenberg Mayor Vincent Morales, who played a vital role bringing organizations together, said the willingness to help was not something anyone gave a second thought about. “We recognized that so many of our friends and neighbors were in serious need,” Morales said. “They needed immediate relief. They needed help now.”

Working alongside Morales was Quart Graves and Cliff Parker, both owners of Chick-fil-A franchises, Pastor Jimn Kyles of the CHURCH, Sarah White with Second Mile Mission, the Central Fort Bend Chamber and Lamar Consolidated ISD, not to mention scores of volunteers. At the initial Brazos River Flood Recovery meeting, Cliff Parker, who has extensive recovery knowledge through his experience with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, provided a plan for stationing a recovery center at Terry High School, which is where the CHURCH was already meeting every Sunday. “We’re a portable church,” Kyles explained. “So we already had the tools and equipment, and the volunteers, to set something up.”

Kyles then partnered with Second Mile Mission, which quickly set up a station at the high school to assist with needs. “We were asked to duplicate the operations we have in our facility in Missouri City, where we serve people in need from all over the county with basic needs and resources to take next steps in their lives,” said White, the executive director of Second Mile Mission, a local nonprofit. “We set up a registration and intake area, where we listened to families and got a sense of their needs.”

Kyles said despite the fact that wreckage of this magnitude was foreign to most people in the area, the participants in the Brazos River Flood Recovery movement brought expertise and dedication to the table, which is why the recovery effort was so successful.

The same evening, the recovery effort was put into play.  Volunteers had helped 47 people before the doors had even officially opened. By Monday, June 6th, the Brazos River Flood Recovery had serviced 1,000 people, and by June 7th, word had hit the streets of where people could go for help. “The first official day at B.F. Terry, we saw more than 200 families,” White said. “This is triple what we normally see at Second Mile in Missouri City.”

Representatives from the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management visited the Brazos River Flood Recovery center and designated the site as a Multi-Agency Resource Center. After that, organization after organization joined the recovery effort.

“It has been amazing to see everyone come together,” Kyles said. “In all, 137 organizations came together to meet the needs of those in our cities.”

Exceptional Volunteers

Like the wheels in a large machine, the volunteers of the relief effort — more than 2,800 people who have contributed more than 21,000 hours as of late June — kept things moving forward. “The volunteers are a perfect example of people who came together for a cause that is much greater than themselves,” Kyles said.

“They’ve done so much more than they even realized to make this possible,” White said of the volunteers, most of whom came from the CHURCH’s volunteer base. “They’ve done a world class job of feeding, receiving and receipting every donation, sharing stories on social media and bringing awareness of the conditions at ‘ground zero’ of the flooded areas.”

Volunteers from throughout the community showed up to do what they could to help those in need, as well as show their support for the organizations coordinating the relief effort. United States Representative Pete Olson and his wife Nancy toured and volunteered at the center where he said, he, too, was gratified by the efforts of ordinary people doing exceptional work. “As our region continues flood recovery efforts, I put hundreds of miles on my truck touring the areas of Texas 22 most impacted,” Olson said. “It was heartwarming to see folks stepping up to help one another in a time of need. Texans helping Texans is what makes our state the best place on earth to live and raise a family.”

Local officials shared Olson’s praise of an exceptional example of a community coming together.  “This group did such an amazing job of coming in and pulling together all of the different organizations and resources needed to help people recover,” said Richmond Mayor Evalyn W. Moore.  “They came in immediately and stepped up to help people all over the county, and when those affected couldn’t come to Terry High School, relief came to them. The recovery team went throughout the county to provide much needed supplies including AccessHealth’s mobile unit providing vital health care.  I couldn’t be more proud and thankful for the many organizations involved in this relief effort.”

In It for the Long Haul

Relief work is no stranger to White, who participated in relief work during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but she said she has noticed a key difference with Brazos River flood tragedy. “With Hurricane Katrina, people were looking for a place to land. With this flood, you have families deeply rooted. People wanted to be in their city because they love it, and they have family here. Many families stayed together, even if on the second floor of their flooded home. We met a guy who had been sleeping in the woods. Local hotel rooms were full. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“The work is far, far from over,” Kyles said, adding the Brazos River Flood Recovery has no plans of disappearing. “The work is just beginning. This is going to be a long process and it’s going to take years.”

In June alone, more than 4,500 people were served at the Terry High School site. While the recovery center has been a success, it will have to relocate before school starts, but that is just one of the concerns of Brazos River Flood Recovery. “Temporary and long-term housing is at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts,” White said. “It’s a top priority for the families affected and for local officials and planners. Along with that, there are immediate needs and interim gap-filling measures to support families until the long-term plan is in place.”

Kyles said the recovery effort is a three-step process. The first step was meeting the emergency needs, which Brazos River Flood Recovery effort did starting June 4th, but the relief effort is in the second step, which is focused on temporary housing. “We’ve begun working with the Office of Emergency Management and city officials to make sure there is temporary housing available to people while their homes are being repaired,” Kyles said. “Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also recognizes this need and is setting up options.

“In addition to temporary housing, our ongoing goal is to connect people to the right agencies,” Kyles added. “United Way, FEMA, AccessHealth and the like. And this is why we liked to have families come to us, because they could get information on three or four services at a time in one location.”

But what Kyles stresses is that there is a long-term plan in play.  “Those affected by the flood will not be forgotten,” Kyles said. “There is hope, and we’re here for the long haul so we can help them rebuild their lives.”

The long-term plan focuses on actually restoring the homes of those affected by the flood. Kyles said Brazos River Flood Recovery has already secured a warehouse where supplies and equipment will be stored, managed and protected so that when families are ready to start rebuilding, those supplies will make it to those in need.

“We need your help. Don’t think this is over. It’s just begun,” said White. “Around 90 percent of what we received is clothing, but that’s not all we need going forward.”  For the long-term, gift cards to Lowe’s and Home Depot are being requested to assist with home repair.

“We will need financial help for supplies and manpower for the long-term plan to work,” Kyles said. “We will need people to come out and help clean, and those who will donate time and supplies. We need people to stay plugged in.

“There is something we say at the CHURCH: ‘I was made for this,’” Kyles added. “We were made to make a difference in our cities and communities. We were made to help. I look around, and you know, I’ve never seen anything like it — people coming together to do whatever it takes with no other agenda aside from helping people. What an amazing thing to witness.”

Call the donation hotline at 832-449-2485 to help with the Brazos River Flood Recovery effort.