When I was a freshman in high school, I moved from Hudson Valley, New York to a suburb of Houston in Katy, Texas. My family has now lived there for almost six years, and continue to live there while I attend school at UC.
If you haven’t seen the pictures of Houston post Hurricane Harvey from this past weekend, they look almost apocalyptical.
Although many Texas cities have been deeply affected, Houston has been one of the hardest hit cities in the region with widespread and unprecedented flooding. Some areas picked up more rain in one hour than they typically receive during the entire month of August.
I have seen many posts on Twitter and comments on Facebook condemning people’s choices to stay and not immediately evacuate. What many people do not know is that Houston is home to six million people, and it only has three evacuation routes. A mass evacuation would put even more lives in danger.
In September of 2005, news of hurricane Rita threatened Houston and its surrounding areas. People panicked and fled, leading to a 24-hour gridlock. Rita ended up weakening from a category five to a category three and hit Far East Texas; Houston barely saw any rain at all. However, there were more than 100 deaths and injuries as people suffered from car accidents and heat strokes.
It is really hard to be so far away from Houston right now, as I see the widespread destruction in my neighborhood and watch my friends be evacuated. I am thankful that I am safe, and that my family is safe. What Houstonians and other residents of Texas need right now is your sympathy, not scrutiny.