Pictured, from left, are Michael Heidenreich, Jared Kirkendoll and Scott Green standing in front of the swamp buggies they brought to Texas to assist with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. (submitted photo)

Scott Green of Millstadt decided he couldn’t sit back and watch people suffer in the flood-ravaged areas of Texas.

So he called up two of his close friends, Michael Heidenreich and Jared Kirkendoll, and they set out on a more-than-750-mile journey last week with Green’s swamp buggies to help whoever they could.

“We’re only staying until Monday night. But anyone who needs it while we’re here, we’re going to do whatever we can to help them,” Green, 29, said last week.

Green and his buddies reached Port Arthur, Texas, a city more than an hour east of Houston, last Thursday. A Facebook video of their arrival shows their trailer driving down a road flooded in its entirety. He said the damage in the wake of Hurricane Harvey is unlike any natural disaster he has ever witnessed.

“It’s crazy. It’s really hard to describe without seeing it for yourself,” he said. “I’ve seen flooding back home, but never like this where it’s entire suburbs under water.”

Green said they used his special vehicles to rescue people from their homes and take them to higher ground, many of whom were trapped by water up to four feet deep. One of his trips even consisted of rescuing 20 people at a time.

“It feels really good. Everybody we pickup — you can see the emotion,” he said. “People are crying and giving you hugs.”

Also last week, Green and his friends loaded up the buggies with water bottles and supplies to take to people close by in need.

“From newborn babies to women and children and even grown men, we’ve helped them all and it feels really good to be able to do that,” he said.

At the end of the trip, Green poured out his feelings on the experience in a Facebook post.

“It has been an experience that words can’t even describe. I have never seen so much gratefulness and love in one area before in my life,” he said. “All the people that we got to help was nothing but thankful for us and let us know it! It was truly an amazing feeling knowing we were making a difference.

“Want to thank everyone who gave us a hand and helped when we needed it on this trip as well. It was sad to see so many people lose everything they had, but also heartwarming to see everyone pull together and help in anyway they could. Absolutely amazing.”

Kim Sizemore-Yeager, a Monroe County native now living near Houston, has also done her part to help storm victims.

“I’m finding it really hard to stop going back out to the war zone. I can’t stand it,” she posted recently on Facebook. “It’s so emotional and so hard to sit in my dry house with friends and neighbors in turmoil.

“(The) majority of our friends have been displaced. By noon today there was SO much help I almost felt not needed. Which was awesome!”

Damage report
At least 60 lives have been claimed by Hurricane Harvey, which reached the Gulf Coast of Texas on Aug. 25 and devastated the area with massive flooding. Thirty of those deaths were reported in Harris County, home to Houston.

Thousands of people displaced from their homes have filled the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. With a record rainfall of more than 51 inches, the White House estimated recently that about 100,000 houses were affected by the storm.

Yeager gave her personal account of the devastation.

“I don’t think people can grasp how widespread this is. For example: this is Cleveland. Maybe 25 miles on one side of us while Katy is 30 miles away a different direction and Galveston is an hour 20 south,” she said. “All flooded. 

“Everywhere. Like you could wipe out four small states with this flood. And that’s not even the full scope. Corpus Christi is almost four hours away. All flooded. Hard to grasp. 

“For my St. Louis friends, it’s like from Chester to Monroe County to downtown out to Alton and back around to St. Charles. All flooded.”

Other relief efforts
The American Red Cross is supporting Hurricane Harvey operations in Texas and Louisiana by providing shelter, meals and client casework to help thousands of people forced from their homes by massive flooding. 

The Red Cross has launched a massive relief response to this devastating storm and needs financial donations to be able to provide immediate disaster relief. Help people affected by Hurricane Harvey by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word “HARVEY” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. 

St. Paul United Church of Christ in Waterloo and St. Paul UCC Columbia will take up special collections this Sunday to purchase items for Church World Service Emergency Cleanup Buckets. 

“Friends, as we are flooded with images of the massive devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey, we feel helpless and our hearts go out to the victims who have been evacuated from their homes and have been sheltered in emergency shelters all over the state of Texas,” a recent St. Paul UCC Waterloo Facebook post reads.

The buckets include sponges, scrub brushes, clothespins and household cleaners. These items will be sent straight to Harvey victims, and will help with the clean-up effort. Call the Waterloo church at 939-7123, the Columbia church at 281-5102, or go to cwskits.org for more information.

Century 21 Advantage in Columbia is joining the relief efforts as well. With a deadline of this Friday, anyone interested can donate items such as water bottles, flashlights, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and other necessities that will be stocked in a truck to be delivered to affected areas. Call 281-7621 for more information. 

Century 21 also allowed for donations to be dropped off during the Columbia vs. Waterloo football game this past Friday night. The office could not give an estimate of how much was collected, but said donations consisted of mostly toiletries, pet food and bottled water. Century 21 said diapers, pet food and bottled water are the greatest needs.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church will donate five percent of proceeds from its annual Labor Day parish picnic to Harvey victims. At press time, the church office had not determined the total amount raised.

President Donald J. Trump has visited Texas twice to see areas affected by the storm and assess the damage. In a recent statement, he recognized the large-scale participation in relief efforts.

“In difficult times such as these, we see the true character of the American people: their strength, their love, and their resolve. We see friend helping friend, neighbor helping neighbor, and stranger helping stranger,” he said.

Another hurricane moving through the Atlantic Ocean is likely to have an impact on Florida and the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm with winds reaching close to 180 miles per hour, was set to hit the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday.

The storm will bring “life-threatening wind, storm surge, and rainfall,” the National Hurricane Center said, according to NPR.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for the state’s 67 counties and activated 100 members of the Florida Air and Army National Guard to support with planning, logistics and operations to prepare for the storm.