Hurricane Harvey has dominated the news with faraway tales of horror and disaster, but for one Athens Drive student, it hit close to home. Hollyn Quiller, Freshman, has family and friends in Houston and Dickinson, Texas who were directly affected by the storm.

“I am a teacher and upon listening to the news, I heard that Dickinson was one of the worst hit areas,” said Sommerlyn Paschal, Quiller’s aunt. “My mind immediately went to my students and their families. I knew many would be without homes, but I just hoped that they all got out with their lives,”

Although there was advance notice of the weather, there was no call to evacuate in Houston. The city’s flat topography would ordinarily help disperse flood waters, but since nine trillion gallons of water rained down, it couldn’t help much.

A main financial concern was that many families in Houston did not have flood insurance on their houses. Some were affected the worst by the rain, others by the wind and some just by the rivers and lakes, such as the Brazos River, overflowing.

“When going back into the houses, it was bad,” said Kellye Sipes, a family friend of Quiller. “We had to wear gloves and masks because of mold, E.coli, and other bacteria from the flood.”

Rescue has been the number one priority for citizens and police officers. People are taking flat boats to bring people out of their flooded homes, assist people stranded on their roofs and even rescue some stuck under debris as a result of the high speed winds.

“Our house had three feet of water and it was continuing to rise when we were rescued by a boat of volunteers,” said Sipes.  “We left our home with our dog and one backpack each.  We were dropped off at the first dry area.”

Rescue centers, stores and even some arenas are letting people stay whose homes were  flooded or destroyed. Citizens have been told not to call 911 unless their life was in immediate peril, leaving it up to Texans to help others out.

“Texans will help whether it’s our responsibility or not,” said Paschal. “Our state has really come together. You see people donating things that have little to their name. People who are able have been cooking and taking food to neighborhoods that have been affected just to make sure others are fed.” There are even special organizations to help out animals stuck in the flood.

“It’s honestly been amazing because many donation centers are turning people away as they have so many clothes,” said Paschal.

Many organizations have been advertising and asking for donations, some cities are actually overloaded with too much. As of now many are just saying to send gift cards or cleaning supplies.

“A school in California wrote letters to our students,” said Sipes. “Their words of hope and encouragement was a blessing to read on our first day back to school. Letters are always welcome!”

Hurricane Harvey is not the end of the disasters across the globe, it is just the beginning. There may be more hurricanes in the future and many more people will need the help of the others.

“It doesn’t take a badge, job, or title to be a hero. It takes courage to do what is right,” said Paschal.

 School Paschal and Sipes work at:

 Calder Road Elementary School

6511 Calder Drive

Dickinson, Texas 77539

Sipes flooded living room and driveway and workers taking her floor apart.
Photos by Kellye Sipes