• Philip Burn

Hurricane Harvey: The Salvation Army Disaster Relief Update

Dallas, Texas (September 18, 2017) - In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, The Salvation Army is supporting one of the largest disaster relief operations in its history. At the peak of response, The Salvation Army deployed more than 90 mobile feeding units to Texas. Salvation Army trained disaster workers are working in the stricken area from across the United States and Canada.

Overview of Service

Incident Command teams continue to coordinate extensive relief efforts in five areas of Texas following Hurricane Harvey; in Houston, Victoria, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, and DFW. Needs for services, equipment, and personnel continue to be evaluated in each location.

Incident Command Locations/Services:

Houston (IC Unit from VA; Captain Trey Jones, IC)

21 mobile feeding units continue serving meals, hydration, snacks, clean up kits and other supplies throughout Houston and the surrounding counties. The Aldine-Westfield Corps is also providing lunch and dinner each day. Facebook is being utilized to notify residents of the location of the mobile feeding units and distribution centers. 24 Emotional and Spiritual Care specialists are traveling with the mobile units and assisting residents with food box/supply distribution as well as spiritual care. Cadets from the Evangeline Booth College are assigned throughout the command to gain maximum exposure to disaster services and assist where needed.

The Adult Rehabilitation Center plans to open their stores in the coming days which will mean securing additional truck drivers and forklift operators to support warehouse operations.

Corpus Christi (IC Unit from MWV; Major Matthew Riley, IC)

9 mobile feeding units are serving meals, hydration, and snacks at fixed locations in Corpus Christi, Gregory, Rockport, Port Aransas, Holiday Beach and Aransas Pass. 2 catering trucks are supplying roving service in Rockport, Bayside, Port Aransas, and Aransas Pass. Feeding numbers remain steady. In Rockport, The Salvation Army is providing containers to residents for storage of their personal items. Incoming Incident Command team members are shadowing the existing leadership team in preparation for transition on Wednesday.

Victoria (IC Unit from Central Territory; Jim Daly, IC)

6 mobile feeding units are providing service delivery in the hardest hit areas; Bloomington, Port Lavaca, Placedo, Cameron, Woodsboro, and Victoria. The Salvation Army is working to identify a local catering source that can provide cooked food to support mobile feeding operations. The Incident Commander continues to meet with local officials, working together to coordinate partnerships and transition to recovery.

Golden Triangle (IC Unit from Western Territory; Shaun Jones, IC)

9 mobile feeding units are serving meals, drinks and snacks to designated locations in Orange County, Port Arthur, Beaumont and their surrounding neighborhoods. Mass food distribution paired with fixed meal service provided by the Baptist Kitchen continues to take place in Orange each day from 12:00-1:30 pm and 5:00-6:30 pm. Distribution centers are expected to be opened in Port Arthur and Orange in the coming days. The Family Store in Orange is now helping to fill vouchers for clothing and other items for survivors.

Dallas Fort Worth (IC Unit from Dallas; Captain Richard New, IC)

Remaining evacuees in the DFW area are now staying at the Dallas Convention Center. The City of Fort Worth has closed the Wilkerson Grind Athletic Complex Shelter and is in the process of relocating those residents back to Orange and Port Arthur. Numbers are expected to decrease further in the coming days. Approximately 2,500 people in shelter and Red Cross workers are receiving meals daily from The Salvation Army. Distribution of clothing and hygiene kits are ongoing. DFW Incident Command Staff expect a transition to recovery mode involving Social Service assistance will take place within the next week.

Freeport (IC Unit from AOK; Captain Michael Knott, IC)

Emergency disaster assistance is ongoing with meal distribution taking place at several sites in and around Freeport. The Distribution Center reopened on Monday after restocking on Sunday. Lt. Juan Gomez is working to reopen the Thrift Store on Tuesday.

Galveston (Captain Patrick Jones, IC)

Social Service assistance has been moved to the Texas City Corps and Galveston Center of Hope. The Salvation Army is working closely with city officials and local non-profits to establish long-term recovery plans for the city. The Galveston Center of Hope continues to operate as a disaster shelter and is feeding meals to residents and survivors from the community. The Center of Hope is also the staging point for the mobile feeding units and other disaster services. The Galveston unit is providing meals at two hotels housing survivors.

Other local units providing services: New Braunfels, Wharton, Bryan-College Station, San Antonio, Corsicana and Waco.

As of September 18 (7:00 PM), The Salvation Army has served 635,688 meals, 615,261 snacks, and 685,987 drinks statewide in response to Hurricane Harvey. Emotional Spiritual Care Officers have spoken with 35,204 first responders and survivors.

You can support the ongoing relief work of The Salvation Army by making a financial donation at to www.helpsalvationarmy.org, call 1-800- SAL-ARMY, text STORM to 51555.

For the latest information please go to www.disaster.salvationarmy.org and watch for regular updates on our social media pages at www.facebook.com/salvationarmytexas/ and www.twitter.com/salarmytx. To access photo and video resources related to The Salvation Army Hurricane Harvey relief efforts please go to www.salvationarmysouth.org/harvey.