East Texans Assist in Harvey Response Efforts

TYLER – East Texans are helping out in the ongoing response to Hurricane Harvey. KETK reports the city of Tyler will soon be assisting state officials in life-saving efforts in the Houston area. According to Fire Marshal Paul Findley, Tyler Fire is deploying a mobile command and communications unit, along with four personnel. A formal request for help was received Sunday afternoon. Up until the request, the city had only been on standby. The vehicle will travel to an undetermined staging location in the Houston area. Findley said the unit will likely be gone for a week and could possibly stay longer if needed.

On Sunday, the Longview Fire Department sent additional employees and resources to assist with rescue efforts associated with Hurricane Harvey. They were deployed with the Command/Communications Platform, a trailer mounted Antenna Mast and an additional support vehicle. They headed to San Antonio where they were assigned to an area where additional resources are needed. To date, the City of Longview has dedicated twelve employees and two volunteers to assist with the rescue operations associated with the hurricane. These personnel are assisting with water rescues, helicopter rescues and various incident management positions.

TxDOT Tyler has sent 18 of its maintenance employees to assist with road and rescue efforts. Tyler employees left Friday morning for staging at TxDOT’s Bryan District, along with employees from other offices from around the state. Sunday morning one of Tyler’s crews, along with equipment, were dispatched to the Yoakum District to assist with roadway efforts in Victoria and surrounding areas. The other crew members remain in Bryan assisting with roadway issues there and will be deployed as needed. According to a TxDOT news release, currently, all roads in the Tyler District’s eight-county area are open to traffic without issue. Counties include Anderson, Cherokee, Gregg, Henderson, Rusk, Smith, Van Zandt and Wood.

The Salvation Army in Tyler, meanwhile, has been placed on standby while the damage of the storm is assessed to find where the Tyler unit will best be able to serve. Go to http://www.helpsalvationarmy.org to make a financial donation to support the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. You can also call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or text STORM to 51555.

Volunteers with Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief are helping hundreds of special needs children and adults who are taking shelter from what was once Hurricane Harvey. Nearly 500 people from the Houston area have been evacuated to Latham Springs Baptist Camp in Aquilla. A Laundry/Shower unit from Lake Athens Baptist Church in Athens has been deployed to the camp to primarily assist evacuees with their laundry needs. This is the first time the new unit from the church has been deployed.

For those wanting to to help Texas residents caught up in Hurricane Harvey, here is a great place to start. At https://emergency.portal.texas.gov you will find valuable information on how to avoid charitable contribution schemes and lists of organizations that directly impact recovery efforts.