• Philip Burn

Greater Houston Salvation Army Serving After Mass Power Outages and Flooding

Houston, Texas (May 20, 2024) – Emergency Disaster Services staff and volunteers from The Salvation Army of Greater Houston are serving impacted communities after a powerful and deadly storm struck the city on Thursday. At its peak, more than one million people were without power with more than 500,000 still with no power as of Saturday morning.

The Southeast region of Texas, including the Houston area, has experienced massive amounts of rainfall in recent weeks resulting in widespread flooding. Thursday’s dangerous storm tore through the city and drenched already saturated ground, with thunderstorm wind gusts estimated to have reached 90-100 mph leaving behind considerable damage in downtown Houston and at least seven people dead.

“We have partnered with the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management to support large-scale distribution of supplies and food in two locations,” said Major Robert Webb, Area Commander of The Salvation Army in Greater Houston. “Our staff and volunteers have been working hard for the last two weeks in Liberty and Montgomery County providing more than 20,000 meals to residents affected by flooding. That meal service just ended on Wednesday and this most recent storm struck on Thursday. We are so grateful for the work of our team, and the ongoing support of the community, our business partners and the City of Houston as we work together to meet the needs of our city.”

Two drive-through points of distribution (PODS) were established on Saturday, one at The Salvation Army Warehouse located at 4026 N Interwood Pkwy, and another at The Salvation Army Community Center, 12507 Windfern Road. More than 1,250 cars drove through the PODS and The Salvation Army distributed 288 cleanup kits (including a bucket, mop, bleach, work gloves, surface cleaner, broom, scrubbing brush and more), 456 hygiene kits, 1,272 cases of water and 2,488 bags of ice provided by H.E.B, 456 Coke products, bread and more.

“We couldn’t have served so many people without the help of committed volunteers,” said Captain Nick Hutchinson with The Salvation Army Houston NW Community Center. “Thank you to volunteers from Houston PD, Harris County Sherrif’s Office, City of Houston, a group from the Latter-Day Saints church, and of course H.E.B who generously provided water and ice for distribution.”

An additional distribution of disaster supplies is planned for Monday, May 20 at 12507 Windfern Road from 10 AM– 2 PM. The Salvation Army will also have three mobile kitchens feeding hot meals on Monday in the following locations:

• Monaville Fire Station 1, 13631 Cochran Road, Waller, Texas
• Roaming Rapid Response Unit in Cypress Area (Coles Crossing Subdivision)
• Roaming Rapid Response Unit south of Cypress in the Bear Creek Village Area

To make a donation to support The Salvation Army’s ongoing response efforts to Houston Severe Weather (May 2024) go to helpsalvationarmy.org. For more information on The Salvation Army’s current disaster response efforts go to www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.