Our fellow Disney Vacation Club members are among the thousands of people impacted by Hurricane Harvey, including some members of our DVCNews family.
The most recent counts cite 44 fatalities as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Nearly 50,000 homes have sustained flood damage and tens-of-thousands of residents are still living in shelters.
Among those impacted by the storm are Wil and Denise Lovato, frequent contributors to DVCNews who go by the screen names of wdrl and denlo. Following is a brief recap of their experience:
When we were given a mandatory evacuation order on Monday, one of our major concerns was trying to find a way to drive out of the metro Houston area. Many of the roads were flooded so we had limited options. We made it about 40 miles from our home to I-10, hoping we could head west to Austin. But I-10 was flooded and we had to turn around. We tried to return home but the roads we had taken to get to I-10 were beginning to flood. We couldn’t find any hotels with vacancies and were beginning to worry that we would be stuck in our car trying to ride out the tropical storm.
Then, I remembered seeing a Gallery Furniture store so we circled back to it. Gallery Furniture is a very large furniture chain in Houston and the owner had announced he was opening all of his stores to people needing shelter. When we got to the store we discovered it was full and couldn’t take any more evacuees. But they gave us the name and address of a small neighborhood church that was setting up a shelter.
The Eagle Heights Church had decided at 11:15 to open their doors as a shelter and by 12:30 they were welcoming their first evacuee. Denise and I were given a 6’ x 8’ space with concrete floors in the church’s sanctuary, which would eventually hold about 200 other people. That doesn’t sound like much, but it was dry and warm, and the church members and neighbors were truly wonderful in giving us everything we needed.
After spending two nights at the shelter, the roads cleared sufficiently for Wil and Denise to join family members in Austin. Fortunately it appears their home was spared any major damange, but thousands of others are not so lucky.
We hope that you will join us in making a small donation to relief efforts to assist those who are currently in need. The Red Cross is accepting donations via their website. Even a simple text message can be used to make a donation. Text "REDCROSS" to the number 90999 and a $10 donation will be sent. (Charges will appear on your cell phone bill.)
At this point, every little bit helps. Thousands of Disney lovers--DVC owners--contributing the cost of their Turkey Leg or Tonga Toast can have an amazing impact.
Thank you!
