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Since Hurricane Harvey, many victims who “lost everything” are calling hotel rooms their new homes. The massive storm left many people displaced.

Chandler Matthews, a college student at Lamar University, has worked at the Three Rivers Inn & Suites for about a year. During the hurricane, he was at the hotel.

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“The water came in the AC room, then the side doors…by the evening time, about 12:00-1:00, water got into the first-floor rooms,” Matthews said.

Matthews and his other three coworkers were stuck at the hotel for three days. Sharing a bed with his coworkers, they opened doors to families to use the hotel. Those families became refugees from the storm, and some of them still are.

The hotel was operating up to full capacity. Matthews described families with more than four people cramming into a single bed, and people begging to stay at the hotel during the storm.

“We ate out of the vending machines for two days. We ate ’til everything was gone,” said Matthews.

During the hurricane, Matthews was isolated from his family. His parents were stuck at their home for seven to eight hours. He had to use a Facebook status as a tool to have them rescued. Currently, Matthews and his parents are living with his sister and her husband.

Now, he describes the hotel as the new home for many. He even had to sign a document for a guest stating the hotel is their permanent living situation. The hotel capacity had overwhelming increased since the hurricane.

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People like Marsha Bias and her family showed strength in the toughest moments in life.

Marsha has been living in the hotel with her husband, daughter, and granddaughter since Hurricane Harvey began. She works in the professional field of social work in the foster care system, and her husband works at the oil refinery. She is from nearby Beaumont, Texas but had to come to Port Arthur because there was no hotel availability in Beaumont.

During the Hurricane, Marsha’s family lost everything, but she did save one of her cars.

After Marsha was denied Red Cross, she only received $1,300 from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), even though she had full insurance with her cars.

Marsha received $1,500 plus gift cards from her job, which is more than FEMA provided.

“As far as FEMA goes, they haven’t done anything. So, basically, you lose everything, and they give $1,300 and that not going to do nothing but help you live in hotel room temporary,” she said.

According to FEMA’s Disaster Relief monthly report for September, the cost of Hurricane Harvey recovery is $3.11 billion.

Marsha and her family are paying out of pocket for the hotel daily, with money getting short as time progresses.

“I had pictures of my kids that got wet, and my son is deceased. How do you replace those?” she said. “It’s devastating and disgusting.”

Marsha cooked her family Thanksgiving meal at their temporary home, the Three Rivers Inn & Suites.

“By the grace of God, we got to stick together. Got to stay strong. I think about we are blessed. Even after all this, I think that we are blessed… Keep going strong,” said Marsha’s husband Kenneth Marshall.

Despite losing everything, Marsha Bias and her family keep a more positive outlook than most do about life.

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Without any hesitation, Reed grabbed an air mattress to rescue her family and neighbors by riding the waves of Hurricane Harvey.

“It was devastating, but, throughout it all, I stayed calm,” said Reed.

Nothing but surviving the storm was on her mind. She can’t explain how she was able to have a clear mind and think straight in such a horrendous storm. Reed, and many interviewed in Texas, agreed that the entire state came together unlike at any other time in its history.

Residents who knew they could help did and, if they hadn’t, then even more lives would have been lost.

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At the age of 34, Reed can proudly say she survived one of the worst hurricanes known to the United States, but just because she survived doesn’t mean things are over.

“No matter how much you prepared for something, you’re still unprepared,” said Reed.

Texas is still suffering from damages, especially to the people and the animals. Many were left homeless, broke and hungry, and those who do still have their homes have to rebuild them from bottom to top.

Water forced its way into the smallest cracks and, with no air circulating through the panels, mold began to appear. Now many people are left living with the mold and with that mold comes cancer. So, not only are these people suffering from a destroyed home, but now they’re fighting for the will to survive.

In the city of Port Arthur, where the population doesn’t even reach 60,000, residents say they are being killed off, and there’s nothing they can do.

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“[Port Arthur] wasn’t good before the hurricane, it wasn’t good during the hurricane, and it isn’t good after the hurricane,” said Reed.

It’s not just the water and the mold that’s making the people of Port Arthur sick, but it’s also the massive oil refineries.

At night when the refineries are lit up, the industrial complex resembles a town of its own.

The toxins from these oil industries have been harming the residents since their birth, they believe. Texas has been producing oil since the late 1800’s, but it wasn’t until 1901 when the “Spindletop” appeared on top of a hill that Texas became the nation’s largest oil refinery state.

A giant outpouring of oil exploded from a drilling site at Spindletop Hill, Texas, which created a mound caused by an underground salt deposit located near Beaumont in Jefferson County of southeastern Texas.

Since that day back in December, Texas, especially Port Arthur, has been producing much of the nation’s oil. And with the refineries lighting up the sky at night, they are producing tons of light pollution too.

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Reed, just like other residents of Port Arthur, knows the refineries are making her sick, but residents say they need the oil companies to stay because there aren’t many jobs around town.

She used to work for an oil refinery making $16 hour and, if she would’ve kept going, the pay could have reached between $30-60 an hour.

According to Reed, you hate the oil refineries as much as you need them.

During the storm, the refineries were shut down, which was a good thing for the air of Port Arthur but a tragedy for their economy. Ironically, oil is the city’s way of life while it’s arguably taking away the residents’ ability to safely breathe.

“It’s been like this,” said Reed. “You just become accustomed.”

So, where does the city of Port Arthur go from here?

There’s no definite answer for that because how do you rebuild an entire city that’s been suffering for over 100 years? Reed doesn’t believe there’s much the government could do. Plus, Texas wasn’t the only state hit by a horrible storm, so she feels the government has its hands tied up at the moment.

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“It’s not just Port Arthur,” said Reed. “It’s everywhere.”

Once the storm stopped, and the water slowly departed, the oil refineries were back to business, just like the rest of the state.

Reed is continuing to live her life while attending school to be a funeral director.

If this city is so hazardous, though, why do people stay? According to Reed, many of the houses are homesteads, meaning they’ve been passed down from one generation to the next.

If Port Arthur is all you know, you don’t have much money, and you’ve been given a free home, would you leave?

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Not just people but animals lost their homes, families, and lives during this disaster. Monica Lee, development director for the Humane Society of Southeast Texas (HSSET), saw a slew of animals walk through her doors.

When Harvey headed for the coast, HSSET executed a plan to ensure that every animal that came to them was kept dry, warm, and safe.

Volunteers with the Cajun Navy brought pets in that they rescued, HSSET volunteers searched homes and pulled animals to safety, and animal control and the Texas Department of Emergency Management took action, as well as non-profits like Pups in Peril. Petco even chipped in a $10,000 grant to make sure there were shelters for the wayward animals throughout the city.

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Some families in Dallas and Houston haven’t made it back home to their pets, so the shelters are hosting animals for extended stays. The mayor of Port Arthur, Derrick Freeman, would love to get commercials made to get those in other cities and states to come adopt the animals left behind. So far, there are rescues in Tennessee, Kentucky, Dallas, Massachusetts, and California.

HSSET had to send 77 of their dogs and 42 of their cats to Tennessee with one of their rescue partners to make room in their shelter for a large number of animals displaced. They ended up taking over the staging efforts in Orange, Texas, pulling over 100 animals into their care. They saved more than 500 animals over the course of the hurricane, 223 of which have already found homes.

Flood waters carry debris and potentially diseases that are affecting these animals. There is a high risk of parvo and influenza, and animals have been brought in with a variety of problems.

“One dog, in particular, Bonnie, had been hit with a floating ant pile,” said Lee. “When ants are overtaken by water, they will attach themselves to whatever they can find – and they found Bonnie. She was covered from head to toe in tiny little burning bites.”

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Hamlet, a Great Pyrenees, received a severe sunburn on his face from being outside for so long during the storm. Sunburn is especially prominent in white dogs, such as Hamlet.

A black-and-white cat named Liam developed MRSA and was found stranded on top of a house with a boil on his back. He has been there since Sept. 7 and received lots of love from those visiting.

While she is a little skittish around people, Bonnie is now doing just fine at the shelter, and Hamlet and Liam are lovable as ever. Despite the medical issues many animals came in with, there were only six casualties at HSSET, thanks to their successful treatment efforts.

“Some animals were pulled from houses, others were rescued off rooftops, but each was provided the TLC and medical attention needed to make a swift recovery,” said Lee.

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Lee told the story of one brave volunteer, Foss Bean, and a shepherd mix. This dog was one of the 30-plus pets that Bean rescued in a span of three days. When he pulled her from the water, he found that she was pregnant. Puppies that were supposed to be due in the next few weeks arrived less than 24 hours later after a rush to the veterinarian for an emergency c-section.

“The stress from Harvey and her abandonment had caused her to go into premature labor,” said Lee. “She welcomed eight beautiful puppies – five of which have already found their forever home!”

Every pet that they took in was provided with a full set of vaccinations, a microchip and the option of spay or neuter when reunited with his or her family. Some pets were reunited with their families, but while animals were on hold for a minimum of 30 days as Lee and her crew searched for their families, some families struggled with the decision to give up their pets to the humane society.

“These were some of the most heartbreaking moments,” said Lee. “We did our best to help them through the decision. In fact, the ferret we had rescued, Sir Frederick Weaselton III, became known as our therapy ferret. When families were signing over their pets, we handed them Freddy to cuddle and sniffle into. It seemed to help them a bit, but nothing could help them through this situation.”

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Luckily, not everyone lost or had to give up their pets. Valory Long drove to Texas from Kentucky with her four dogs for a job. The hurricane hit as she was driving. She had a duplex rented for two years. The duplex didn’t flood, but when she arrived in Texas, the landlord told Long her sister’s house had flooded, and she was going to give that home to her instead.

Long had friends in the area and ended up living in a small camper with three other adults, their two dogs, and her four dogs.

She said, as she held onto her dog, Teddy Bear, that it was difficult, but she couldn’t even imagine what it would be like if she had lost her dogs, one of which she’s had for 17 years.

“I’m a big-time animal lover,” said Long. “I heard of so many people who lost their animals, and it just breaks my heart. I can feel bad for myself, but I’m just lucky I have my dogs.”

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It’s easy to focus on family pets when people’s homes are being destroyed, and they are being sent elsewhere. However, it wasn’t just cats and dogs that were displaced by Hurricane Harvey.

“Not only were dogs and cats being rescued but a mule, a ferret, a snake, mice, a duck, and even an armadillo,” said Lee.

Port Arthur is in a rural area with open spaces and farmland on the outskirts. Mayor Freeman began to receive some criticism. For a while, after the hurricane, there was no big animal pick up. Horses, sheep, cows, and dogs had drowned. Several dead horses littered the land, and cows were pushed up against fences by the water.

“It got to smelling really bad,” said Mayor Freeman. “You can imagine driving in the 100-degree weather we have here in Southeast Texas.”

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Creatures besides mammals also made their presence in Port Arthur. When the water level rose, there were snakes, spiders, and alligators that appeared. Even Mayor Freeman’s home was flooded, with thousands of spiders layered on the water.

Gamble, who had seen the horse and pig walk through her yard, said it was the snakes that got her attention. Traveling on the highway, snakes were flipping their heads up right in front of her on the street.

“I had heard that when people got back in their homes, they opened their drawers and snakes were in the drawers,” said Gamble.

This issue is complex, and the people of Port Arthur and Southeast Texas need more specialists’ attention for all the animals in need. Mayor Freeman has gotten the farm animals taken away and has set up a system to have the rest of the animals be identified, adopted, and taken care of.

With the tremendous effort put forth by Mayor Freeman, Lee and her crew at HSSET, and the numerous volunteers, the displaced animals affected by the hurricane are cared for, safe, and finding homes.

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Students Featured (In Order)

Joel Kananen

Evan Casey

Amanda Becker

Nyesha Stone

Quin Voet

Tess Klein

Muru Li

Sabrina Johnkins

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Area churches like New Saint John and the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, whose basement flooded during the storm, along with religious organizations like Operation Blessing, became a haven of support and recovery for the residents of the resilient town. The storm left the homes of Port Arthur residents in ruin, and FEMA scrambling to record and inspect the many cases of black mold and water damage.

The churches in the area coordinated with each other quickly after the storm began to ensure the people of the community would have what they needed, as well as a place to stay. The pastor of Mount Sinai, Randy Vaughn, is a respected national pastor and was able to use his connections to aid both his parish and community.

Johnson, among other residents, turned to Mount Sinai for clothes, hygiene products and toys at the church’s free garage sale. A large crowd of children, parents, grandparents and friends met in the church’s parking lot, greeting their neighbors with a smile and a hello as they picked up the basic supplies for their survival three months after the hurricane hit.

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The garage sale was coordinated by members of Mount Sinai and former Port Arthur resident, Graylnn Viltz, who is the vice president of the South Texas chapter of AT&T’s Pioneer volunteer program. The Pioneers have been active in areas all across Texas since Harvey, including helping with Meals on Wheels for the elderly and a toy drive for the children during the upcoming Christmas season. Volunteers from the church helped organize and distribute the supplies as they have done since the flooding began.

“Port Arthur needs the most help because they have the least resources,” said Viltz, whose sister and mother, who live in Port Arthur, sustained damage to their vehicles and home.

Port Arthur members of all ages came to the church in need. Families with small children and infants could receive toys and small Christmas trees made by members of the AT&T Pioneer program, while the elderly could pick up clothing and toothbrushes. Food and shoes were also available, and church volunteers stressed the need for furniture donations, as many Port Arthur residents now live without a bed to sleep on.

Also present at the Mount Sinai garage sale were representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. FEMA agent Brian Montgomery, who has been with FEMA in a volunteer capacity for 12 years, has been in areas affected by Harvey since the storm hit. The deployment for Harvey was the largest in FEMA’s history, as well as the longest. FEMA is responsible for ensuring residents have a safe place to stay during the flood and ensuring homes are safe to return to after the homes have been gutted and inspected for mold. This leaves other government agencies, charities and religious organizations to make sure people have the other necessary supplies for survival.

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Residents like Eldron Livingston, his wife Kayla and son Cody had to completely gut and rebuild the interior of their Port Arthur homes after being displaced for 10 days. Hazardous black mold is the main concern after a flood, so homes must be completely aired out, and all possessions that may have been infected by the mold must be thrown out. The Livingstons had to prioritize what to bring with them when they left their home, choosing family photos, and leaving the rest of their possessions to be destroyed.

“We saw drone pictures and knew everything was lost,” said Livingston, whose home among others in the neighborhood experienced nearly 10 feet of flooding. “We came back expecting to have nothing, and we were right.”

Members of Operation Blessing from Austin, Texas assisted the Livingstons’ clean-up, as they have been since the flooding subsided enough for volunteers to enter the city. For nearly 10 days, the I-10 highway was flooded and not open for public travel. Even FEMA was blocked from the area for several days due to the huge volume of water.

Accompanied by a group of Austin-area friends and volunteers, Nikol Madrid and her face-mask clad Operation Blessing team were the first people to enter a flooded home on 436 Drummond Street in Port Arthur. The volunteers began the long and difficult process of completely gutting the mold-ridden home. The large pile of damp books, cowboy hats, discarded Christmas tree and the rest of the possessions of the elderly woman who previously inhabited the now unlivable home serve as a reminder of the loss many Port Arthur residents are currently facing.

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“This house is the worst of the four we’ve done today, and the worst I’ve seen overall,” said Madrid of 436 Drummond, who has been involved in the gutting of 26 homes. “The mold was up to the ceiling.”

The Operation Blessing volunteers have worked on similarly heart-breaking homes for weeks, sorting through the water-logged possessions of Port Arthur citizens whose homes and things have been ruined by the flood.

Today, Port Arthur looks like what you might expect a small Texas town to look like. Dry, hot and dominated by the menacing mechanical structures of the oil refineries that overshadow the town, and not much looks out of sort. Until you see the homes of the people of Port Arthur. The exteriors are lined with garbage and the material objects that remain show that people’s homes have been destroyed. Battered advertisements for construction companies and flood insurance are more common than the normal ads for the local Wal-Mart or beer company. Signs warn KEEP OUT while mattresses lay in the driveway of homes that have no doors or windows as they dry. Harvey hit the town hard from Aug. 17 to Sept. 3. Now, almost two months later, the people of the town are ready to forget the punishing damage and rebuild their homes.

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