Some weeks, it’s tough to find a reason to laugh. This was one of those weeks: Hurricane Harvey slammed into Houston as a Category 4 hurricane last Friday, breaking records we’d all rather have seen left unbroken. According to USA Today, more than 30,000 people have fled to shelters in Houston with countless more driven out of their homes by the flooding.
Here are just a few stats regarding Harvey’s size and destruction:
- Harvey reached Category 4 levels on Friday as it made landfall near Corpus Christi with 132 MPH winds.
- 25 trillion gallons of rain fell on Texas, resulting in massive flooding across about 530 square miles.
- Some places got more than 50 inches of rain, breaking the record for the continental U.S.
- With a predicted price tag of $190 billion, Hurricane Harvey is shaping up to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, according to AccuWeather.
But even in the worst of times, human nature can almost always help us find a reason to smile. Trouble seems to bring out the best in people, and Hurricane Harvey was a stellar example of this. People in and around the impacted areas have brought people’s willingness to lend a helping hand to a new level this week with their overwhelming response to this natural disaster. Going to extreme levels to help their neighbors in need, both official helpers and volunteers working on their own initiative have put themselves at risk to bring both people and pets to safety.
Here are a few of our favorite images of people helping each other this week:
If you need further proof that the human spirit can rise above even the worst conditions, watch this video Joni Villemez-Comeaux posted on Facebook from The Lone Star Convention & Expo Center, now serving as a shelter.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey. If you would like to make a donation to support the relief effort, but aren’t sure which charity to donate to, we’ve listed below a few local relief organizations to consider:
