Harvey threatens Texas

[spaminator]

'The water is rushing in. Please help me!'; Body of woman trapped in flooded Houston hotel elevator found
Jamie Stengle, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Saturday, September 09, 2017 02:11 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, September 09, 2017 02:28 PM EDT
With Harvey’s floodwaters rapidly flowing into the Houston hotel where she worked, Jill Renick reportedly made a frantic cellphone call to a fellow employee: “I’m in an elevator. The water is rushing in. Please help me!”
Those words were among the few clues Renick’s family and friends had to go on for a week and a half, when repeated searches of the Omni Houston Hotel failed to turn up any sign of her and desperate calls to shelters and hospitals were similarly fruitless.
Worst fears were confirmed with the discovery of a body in the ceiling of the hotel basement near elevators Thursday, and police say they believe it to be that of the 48-year-old Renick.
“We are heartbroken. To know Jill is to have loved her,” her sister, Pam Eslinger, said in a statement issued on behalf of the family. “She could light up a room just by walking in and adored life.”
Renick’s disappearance had been among the most baffling mysteries in the wake of Harvey, which has killed at least 74 people after hitting the Texas coast Aug. 25 and dropping more than 51 inches (129 centimetres) of rain. At least 22 people in Houston remain missing.
Renick, who was director of spa services at the four-star hotel, was last heard from Aug. 27, police said, when she made the call to a co-worker saying she was stuck in a service elevator that was rapidly filling with water. Eslinger, who has said she spoke with employees, detailed the call to Dallas television station KTVT.
Renick had stayed the night with her dog in a fourth-floor room at the hotel but left to help guests evacuate as water poured into the lobby and basement. After her cellphone call, there was no sign of Renick. Her dog was found in the hotel room and her car in the parking lot.
Attempts by the police dive team and the Houston Fire Department to locate Renick were unsuccessful because of the severe flooding. A hotel employee finally spotted the body early Thursday.
“She was loved by so many people,” said the family statement, “and we will feel the impact of her absence in our hearts forever.”
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Missing Flood Victim: ‘I
'The water is rushing in. Please help me!'; Body of woman trapped in flooded Hou

 

[spaminator]

Celebs help raise US$14.5 million for hurricane relief
David Bauder, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 08:33 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 08:46 AM EDT
NEW YORK — Dozens of stars turned out to sing, tell stories and plead for support for hurricane victims on Tuesday, in a one-hour televised benefit that had raised $14.5 million by the time cameras were turned off.
With Stevie Wonder singing “Lean on Me” and Usher and Blake Shelton joining for “Stand By Me,” the message was clear: Americans were being asked to help those whose lives were upended by wind and rain.
Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Lupita Nyong’o, Jay Leno and dozens of others sat at phone banks to accept donations. Beyonce, Will Smith and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson sent in taped pleas for support during the event, shown on more than a dozen television networks and online simultaneously.
Originally conceived as a benefit for victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the “Hand in Hand” telethon was expanded to help people in Florida and the Caribbean devastated in recent days by Irma.
“We’re here to raise money, lift some spirits,” said Jamie Foxx, standing with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. “When tough times hit, this is who we are. We’re compassionate. We’re unstoppable.”
The quick-moving show took a form familiar to viewers since a sad template was set in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Celebrities requested donations, told heartwarming survival stories involving people caught in the storm and sang songs. Several organizations will benefit, including the United Way and Save the Children.
Stages in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, Tennessee were filled simultaneously, although the night’s final performance — a tribute to Texans by George Strait, Robert Earl Keen, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert and Lyle Lovett — originated from San Antonio.
“Despacito” singer Luis Fonsi and Tori Kelly sang “Hallelujah” together. Dave Matthews picked his guitar from a studio above Times Square, and Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Demi Lovato and Cece Winans sang the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.” Wonder, backed by a gospel chorus, opened the show with the Bill Withers classic.
“Natural disasters don’t discriminate,” Beyonce said. “They don’t care if you’re an immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy or poor.” Cher and Oprah Winfrey told the story behind a frequently-seen picture of strangers forming a human chain to save someone from flooding in Houston.
Usually competitive network morning personalities Matt Lauer, Norah O’Donnell and Michael Strahan stood before a satellite image of an ominous Irma to describe devastation that the storm had caused.
Donations were announced from some deep pockets. Computer maker Michael Dell and his wife Susan pledged to match the first $10 million in donations Tuesday. They’ve given a total of $41 million to the Rebuild Texas Fund. Basketball star Chris Paul gave $20,000 and said the NBA Players Association would match donations of up to the same amount given by any NBA player.
Announcing Apple’s promise to give $5 million, comic Stephen Colbert quipped said it was coincidentally “also the price of the new iPhone.”
Billy Crystal, who gave the $14.5 million tally at the show’s end, said phone lines would be kept open, and viewers could also donate online. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, HBO, MTV, BET and Univision were among the networks carrying the program, which was also streamed online.
Houston rap artist Bun B and Hollywood talent manager Scooter Braun organized the event.
Braun said after the show, all the celebrities manning the phone banks stayed to take more calls. “No one left,” he said. “Everyone just kept answering phones and answering phones and answering phones. People want to give. Like, people want to help. And you don’t have to be a celebrity to do it.”
For many of the stars, the storms hit close to home.
“I have family in Puerto Rico, I have family in Miami. I’ve been on the road. I haven’t been able to be there. So you can imagine how it’s been,” Fonsi said after the show, adding that all his family, including his wife and young children in Miami, survived the storm and are safe.
“”Helpless — helpless is an understatement,“ Fonsi said of being on tour and unable to be with his family. He noted that his experience paled in comparison to the pain the storms have caused for many.
“You can imagine how frustrating it is to not be able to sort of protect your own family,” he said. “Imagine all of these people that have nothing to do. The videos that you see online. So as an artist, as a singer, I think it’s part of our job, it’s part of our resume, to take time off and come together and do these kind of things.”
Celebs help raise US$14.5 million for hurricane relief | Celebrities | Entertain

 

[tay]

I can't believe all these celebrities were unaware of the Red Crosses shameful history and they were dumb enough to raise money to give to them instead of the multitude of other on the ground charities/food banks etcetera. I see Taylor Swift didn't squander her money by giving it to them......


Houston's mayor, Sylvester Turner, is now weighing in on controversy over the Red Cross. This comes after many people have questioned where the millions of dollars in resources given to the Red Cross are going.

"If you promise people something, you got to make it happen because – otherwise -- don't promise at all," Turner said.

Many Harvey survivors claimed they are not getting the assistance promised by the organization, specifically $400 promised to families who survived the flood.

The Red Cross said its system for the program went down Monday and representatives did not know when it would be up.
Porter resident Wanda Short said she lost everything in the flood.

"I slept in my car for three days and I finally got a room, but I'm just devastated," Short said. "I'm disabled, but I still get around. I still take care of my house and my yard ... but it's all gone."

She and her daughter Kelley Coats depended on the Red Cross.

"I left my name, my number, my address. I left her address, not one single word back," Coats said. "My mom flagged them down in the neighborhood, and they didn't even get out of the car. They talked to her through the window and said ... call the Red Cross number."

So Short called and waited five hours only to be told she couldn't be helped.

"They said, 'Well there's no more funds available. Try back another time,’” Short said.

More than $300 million has been donated to the Red Cross. The mayor said he understands helping people on this scale is difficult, but he said the organization should give people answers.

"If the Red Cross, if anyone … If I tell you I'm going to do this, and I don't do it, then I have to be willing to accept the criticism because right now, when people are in a very difficult situation, they're relying on what you tell them. And, if you say you're going to do a, b, c or d you better do a, b, c, or d or you better get out front very quickly and tell people why you can't do a, b, c or d," Turner said.

Answers are what Short's family said she deserves.

"She's already been through enough. The last thing she needs is to be lied to," Coats said.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/...ng-words-for-red-cross-after-problems-surface

 

[Murphy]

If you can, contribute something - $5 is nice - to the Red Cross or other organization and help the folks that suffered through Harvey or Irma. Various companies are donating profits from sales of their products to the people of Texas and Florida.

Canada

https://donate.redcross.ca/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1951&ea.campaign.id=76885

US

https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey

I got this great T shirt, and $15US went to Tx relief from Hornady Manufacturing.

Help your neighbours!