HILO — When Waimea resident Balbi Brooks first arrived in Houston late Aug. 29, she was exhausted.
She’d spent much of the day prior flying over from Hawaii. That was followed by a full-day in Austin, waiting for roads to reopen.
When Brooks and fellow American Red Cross volunteers finally completed the three-hour bus ride from Austin to Houston, it was dark outside.
“(The) night when I got here, it was packed,” Brooks, 72, said by phone Tuesday, recalling the sight of roughly 10,000 people sheltered inside Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, which was converted into a Red Cross shelter. “I’d never seen a shelter this big in my life. There were people on cots everywhere. It was really just a sea of cots.”
Brooks is one of 10 Big Island-based Red Cross volunteers and 26 statewide who have been deployed to Texas and Louisiana since Hurricane Harvey first made landfall Aug. 25 as Category 4 hurricane. The storm caused catastrophic flooding and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
Officials estimate as many as 135,000 homes were impacted in Texas, and damage from Harvey could reportedly reach as high as $180 billion, more than hurricanes Katrina or Sandy.
The Red Cross estimates about 33,000 Harvey evacuees sought refuge in 284 shelters Sunday night. The Red Cross says about 3,000 disaster workers are on the ground, with 450 more on the way.
Marty Moran, a Kailua-Kona based Red Cross volunteer also stationed in Houston, said the Red Cross is now awaiting the unknown impacts of Hurricane Irma. On Tuesday, Hurricane Irma was a category 5 storm and headed toward the Caribbean islands. It is predicated to hit the southern part of Florida by the weekend.
“This is probably one of the largest operations since Katrina or Sandy, and now we’re facing the possibility of a category 4 or 5 hurricane hitting Georgia or Florida or the like,” Moran said by phone Tuesday, adding he plans to stay at least eight weeks before returning to Kona. “So the Red Cross has slowed down some of the people coming to us and diverted them to prepare for what Irma might do. So it really means things are getting much better than last week, but we’re still operating with less than the optimal amount of people and supplies.”
Harvey has spurred several Texans with Hawaii Island ties to give back. Former Kailua-Kona resident Ikaika Kailiawa-Smith and his wife, Alyssia, who now live in Houston, helped rescue dozens of people stranded by flooding. Ikaikia said Tuesday they rescued about 45 people in all.
“I think it went well for a 500-year flood that no one has seen before,” he said. “The community really came together. … It’s always good when we can help other people. We try to help as much as we can.”
Pomai and Barry Uyehara, Hilo natives now living in Texas, have served hundreds of free meals to Harvey evacuees, first responders and volunteers. The Uyehara’s are owners of Pineapple Grill Texas, a Hawaiian-style food truck. They’ve named their effort “Project Aloha.”
“It’s just part of who we are and how we’re brought up,” Pomai Uyehara said Tuesday when asked why she thought several Big Island-natives-turned Texans have assisted flood victims. “… No matter where we go, we just try to share the aloha spirit, and it’s about helping others.”
Brooks said she’s worked 12-hour shifts — mostly on-her-feet — since arriving in Houston more than a week ago. She said the number of people inside the convention center-turned-shelter has dwindled to about 3,000, though the magnitude of the operation is still “overwhelming.” She said many people are now working to adjust to life after the storm.
“Yesterday and today, I’ve seen some tempers flare,” Brooks said. “People want to go home and rebuild their lives, and they’re getting frustrated, or they’ve gone home and turned around and had to come back, and they’re frustrated.
“I still have thoughts of five years ago volunteering (to help) Hurricane Isaac victims in New Orleans. ,I think about those people and wonder if they’re back on their feet, and if they’ve rebuilt. Most of them have been through several hurricanes so they’re maybe somewhat used to it. But for many of these people it’s their first time. … It’s definitely humbling.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.