Please don't politicize this right now.

[B2G]

Some of us have family and friends in the area. Now isn't the time.

[greymattermom]

1. It's also not the time to cut the budget

for FEMA, CDC, add to the long list. It's not the time to shut down the government either.

[Cracklin Charlie]

2. No cuts.

Up the budget. And then up it some more. This is dangerous.

[Sailor65x1]

3. You are right

Unfortunately, DU gonna DU

[Kleveland]

4. I am behind this pleading post 100%

Never mind the blame, politics, assholes in DC, these citizens of the US need help!

Relief efforts need to be underway, and running full tilt.

Inaction is not helpful, we need involvement !

Get the National Guard and Red Cross in there ASAP!

These are fellow human beings, we need show some compassion.

[lunatica]

5. I hope your people are OK

[B2G]

6. Thank you Lunatica

My aunt, uncle and cousins are in Spring. My cousins' kids are in downtown Houston. My other cousin is in Rosenberg.

My mom just called and so far they are OK, but they're pretty freaked out by what has come and what is still forecast to come.

There will be plenty of time to dissect the response after the fact. The first responders are killing themselves trying to help people. Sitting in the comfort of your dry home critiquing their efforts right now makes me ill.

[lunatica]

7. People can be quite resilient, especially in a situation like this

And downtown Houston is probably a good place to be. That's where all the tall buildings are. I would be freaking out too if I was there.

[B2G]

8. My great niece and nephew are in the same building.

Rachel is on the first floor but her brother's apartment is on the 3rd. Tyler isn't there...he's stuck in Atlanta but she has a key.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. How to Help?

B2G, I'm relatively new to DU and still learning the layout. Has DU posted a list of charities and support orgs that we can give to (other than the usual like Red Cross), in order to give these good folks a hand?

[B2G]

10. Not that I've seen

On storm2k, they are posting that local officials are asking locals with boats to assist. Right now the focus is on rescue. In the coming days that will turn to recovery. I'll look for links to post. Thanks so much for asking...great question.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. Perhaps

Perhaps some one in DU that knows the ropes with TX state as well as national aid organizations could agglomerate a list. I'm sure a lot of DUers like us will pitch in some bucks. If it's like Katrina, tons of boats will be pouring in from all along the Gulf coast, but my gut tells me a lot of aid orgs and charities are running short of cash right now. There surely will be a call to boost blood donations as well.

There's going to be a tremendous short and long-term need, so we will all need an occasional reminder from DUers living there and observing the suffering. Just like with Katrina, it's all too easy to soon forget when we're hundreds of miles away. Unfortunately, the media will mostly disappear after the storm has worn down.

Thanks for the reminder to keep our political frustrations in our pocket for now. All of our voices need to come together now to support those in suffering.

[Nevernose]

12. Here is a link to a large list:

Link to tweet

I hope that works, because I suck at Twitter. The list is threaded for five or ten posts after.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

14. Thanks!

That's a good start. I don't do Twitter at all but I can copy and paste info into a text file from those links for later use. At least we can open Twitter pages without having an account.

[hlthe2b]

11. Agree. I was crushed when some were less than sympathetic during both our major

wildfires of recent years, as well as the record-setting floods in 2013 (northern CO)...I can't help that part of CO votes "religiously" for REPUGs, but that doesn't make a damned bit of difference when facing a major crisis.

Best of wishes and thoughts for our Texas friends who were and are about to be severely impacted. My thoughts go back to Katrina and quite frankly, it is soul-crushing to see people on roofs and stranded in nursing homes/hospitals once again.