New Orleans community mobilizes for Houston as Harvey bears down on LA

By ALAN SMASON

On the ignoble anniversaries of the twin landfalls of Hurricanes Katrina and Issac, the New Orleans Jewish community mobilized for action to help rain-soaked sister city Houston recover from record setting floods brought about by Hurricane Harvey.

People making their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water from Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Tex., Aug. 28, 2017. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Harvey retreated into the Gulf of Mexico waters late Monday night from the East Texas coastline where it had dumped nearly nine trillion gallons of water since late Saturday night, inundating the area and causing at least three deaths. Dozens of residents were reported missing and massive evacuations and rescue missions were conducted on Monday. Officials estimate at least 30,000 residents of the city have been displaced, while at least 9,000 were housed at the Houston Convention Center. That figure is expected to increase as two reservoirs – the Addicks Dam Reservoir and the Barker Reservoir – both began to overtop, sending massive floodwaters towards populated areas.

Reorganized as Tropical Storm Harvey, the system is expected to continue to draw moisture in from the gulf, but not to restrengthen significantly. Forecasters expect it to make a rare second landfall overnight in Calcacieu Parish, bringing it closer to New Orleans, where officials warned that heavy rains between five and ten inches could threaten the heavily taxed Sewerage and Water Board pumps and drainage system that failed during the August 5 flood.

Waters inundate the United Orthodox Synagogue in Houston for the third year in a row. (Photo courtesy JNS.org)

Widespread reports indicate that the largely Jewish section of Houston suffered catastrophic flooding for the third year in a row. Sunday and Monday’s storm totals helped push the total amount of rainfall for August to more than 16 inches over any previously recorded month of record keeping. The totals were so high that the National Weather Service created a new color designation of dark purple to indicate the amounts it had recorded.

Houston’s Federation, JCC and Jewish Family Service communicated through telephone conference calls on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to help coordinate relief efforts in their area. Nationally, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) established a fund to channel donations directly to communities affected by the storm including those in Houston, Corpus Christi and Galveston.

The Jewish Federation of Houston was forced to abandon its offices on the campus it shares with the Evelyn Rubinstein Jewish Community Center. President and CEO Lee Wunsch, who is winding down a career of more than 25 years at the helm of the Houston Federation, spoke with the CCJN over telephone on Monday. “Our building, we think, is fine. The JCC got 10 feet of water in their bottom of their building,” he reported.

“The rain has not stopped,” Wunsch continued. “There was a river that crested overnight and they were concerned about flooding in our neighborhood, so my wife and I are living in a hotel till Thursday.”

A suburb in Houston is cut off from the rest of the city completely encircled by impassable water. (Photo by Jacob Kamaras)

While viewing live remotes of helicopters rescuing people stranded on rooftops on his TV, Wunsch said he was reminded of the very same images he had seen 12 years ago following the passage of Hurricane Katrina here.

“The high-density Jewish neighborhoods in ’15 and ’16 are not the only ones affected,” Wunsch explained. “The entire city is under water.”

Locally, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans is organizing its own drive for funds to directly target the Houston Jewish Federation. They are accepting dry goods and supplies like diapers and cleaning supplies. They also are soliciting donations of new or lightly worn clothes to replace the wardrobes of those who have lost theirs. New Orleans Federation CEO Arnie Fielkow initiated a $50,000 donation to the Houston Federation, which is the largest donation made over the course of the past three years.

In an email sent to the entire community on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall near New Orleans, the most costly natural disaster to strike the United States, Fielkow congratulated those residents who had returned and helped the city become better than it had been before. “Even today, given the tragedy befallen upon our brethren in Houston, the New Orleans community continues to pave the way and demonstrate our appreciation to our Texas neighbors, who in 2005 and beyond, ensured that New Orleanians had a welcoming place to call home,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Wunsch indicated that the Houston Federation has its own link for direct donations.

Cars are submurged in murky waters near Braeswood, a suburb of Houston. (Photo by Jacob Kamaras)

Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Matthew Reimer announced that Cantor Joel Colman will be coordinating efforts through the United Way and Walmart for a truck filled with supplies to be dispatched to the Houston area soon. In previous years similar trucks full of supplies were sent to Birmingham following its recovery from a rash of tornadoes in 2011 and to Baton Rouge following the torrential downpour and flooding one year ago.

Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana is also requesting cash donations through its own network. To donate directly to their Chabad organization in Houston, click here.

Nechama, the team of Jewish volunteers that has helped New Orleans in its recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the flood that followed it as well as helping in Houston with the two previous years worth of floods, is also soliciting donations and volunteers to help those stricken in the area.

On Monday, the Jewish Community Day School (JCDS) accepted the first transfer from Texas in what may be a stream of Jewish students displaced by the storm. JCDS head of school Sharon Pollin indicates the staff and her board are prepared to accept as many students as needed.

(Editor’s note: This story was determined as the First Place selection in the Breaking News category of the 2018 Press Club of New Orleans Excellence in Journalism Awards. It also meant a Best of Show award, the Bill Rainey Memorial Award, one of only two awards given out annually for print media.)