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During difficult times Houston showed its true spirit, the kind of humanity we often think has disappeared. This is when I saw neighbours helping neighbours, strangers helping strangers. Black, white, yellow and brown all coming together as one. In the midst of this inclement weather, shelters opened up. People rushed forward with their pillows, toilet papers, blankets, socks. Here’s a touching and candid account by Sukanya from Texas, not far away from Houston. A Different Truths exclusive.
On Thursday, I finally got into my car and headed out to get some water. The fridge was already stocked, and we had candles at home. We were told a hurricane is coming towards Corpus Christi, and by Friday night we will get rained. Having stayed here during Allison, Rita and Ike, I was not so bothered. We were not in the eye of the hurricane, so wind damage was not a fear, all we will get was the rain. Now, those living in Houston will be daunted by the rains, it is so common place for us.
We don’t live in Houston proper. We live in a fast growing city called League City. It is close to the bay. Seven minutes from our house is the Galveston bay. And 30 plus minutes away is the Gulf of Mexico, we are used to strong winds and hurricane warnings, we are aware of the dangers of flash floods. The hurricane that was headed our way was another little dent in our normal lives.
That is when questions came crawling in. Why did our Mayor not ask for a mandatory evacuation? Unless you live and have lived in the city of Houston, you might not understand why our Mayor didn’t suggest an evacuation. We were here when Hurricane Rita came and was asked to evacuate. En masse the Texans took to the roads, heading out to safety and instead got caught in traffic. Sweltering heat, running out of gas and air conditioning not working, that time many died on the roads. They died of sheer exhaustion and heat, and then Hurricane Rita came, ignored us and went away. That memory was raw on our minds, and we knew evacuating more than 6 million people would be a bad idea. What if we got caught in another traffic, being in a water logged street will be far more dangerous than being in a home filled water. Also, keep in mind Houston and its surrounding is very large, it is near impossible to know which parts will be affected, who to evacuate.
Now going back to the city of Houston where the soil is heavily clayed and has numerous waterways
During this difficult times when Houston showed its true spirit, the kind of humanity we often think has disappeared. This is when I saw neighbours helping neighbours, strangers helping strangers. Black, white, yellow and brown all coming together as one. In the midst of this inclement weather, shelters opened up. People rushed forward with their pillows, toilet papers, blankets, socks. I always loved shopping at HEB, now I will shop there more – they opened their doors as a shelter. Once again, I am awed by our law enforcement, EMT, nurses and other first responders, volunteers – how tenderly they carry the vulnerable to safety. How their strong arms protect those terrified animals. They all worked overtime, tired and drawn they continued with their relief and rescue operations.
We are indeed Texas tough.
I will end with what I just heard on CNN, “Mother Nature at her worst, human nature at its best”.
©Sukanya Juno Biswas
Photos by author, one from the Internet
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