While Hurricane Michael was barreling toward the Florida Panhandle, Entergy Texas employees were headed to deal with the aftermath.
During the day, a large lot at Totran Transportation Services in Conroe looks like an expansive football field for parking heavy-haul trucks and trailers. But at night, the gravel parking lot lights up like Friday Night Lights on the big screen.
As heavy rains and flash flooding soak Southeast Texas this week, Entergy Texas is also closely monitoring a tropical system near the Yucatan Peninsula that is predicted to land somewhere on the Texas coast.
For the 11th consecutive year, Site Selection magazine has named Entergy as one of the nation’s Top 10 utilities in economic development. The accolade comes as a result of Entergy’s part in supporting projects that resulted in nearly $4.25 billion of capital investment and the creation of more than 4,688 new jobs within the service territory in 2017.
When Harvey hit, many of the victims who lost everything didn’t qualify for help from FEMA. Some couldn’t even prove who they were or where they lived, because Harvey washed away all their paperwork. That’s where Mission Northeast in New Caney stepped in.
When floodwaters began rising in their neighborhood in Orange, Texas, Jessica and Aceson Holmes safely moved their pets and vehicles to higher ground and evacuated before the worst of Hurricane Harvey’s rains arrived. Over the next few days, the water reached 5 feet in their house and 6 feet in their barn as Adams Bayou swelled over its banks.
In the aftermath of Harvey’s devastation, Montgomery County and surrounding areas showed the resilience to overcome. Neighbors, families and businesses stood together and rebuilt, stronger than ever. A year later, that rebuilding continues. Entergy Texas directed $100,000 in Hurricane Harvey relief funds to Montgomery and Liberty Counties.
For nine days, cars lined up a mile in each direction in front of the Southeast Texas Food Bank in Beaumont. Hurricane Harvey had cut off the city from the surrounding area leaving residents with nowhere to turn for food and water except the Food Bank and isolating the Food Bank from the rest of the area it serves – eight total counties in Southeast Texas.
In those days following Harvey, uncertainty hung thick in the air. Even though the rains had passed, whole communities had been swallowed by flooding and residents were uncertain if more was to come. One year later, Salvation Army is still working to help those in need.
