Mother nature was not on Texas’s side when Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport on August 25. Causing up to 50 inches of rainfall with 130 mph winds in some areas, Harvey was classified as the second biggest hurricane to hit the United States in the past decade, falling behind Irma.

           Harvey has left 60 people dead, 300,000 without power, about 100,000 homes affected, an estimated 30,000 people in emergency shelters, 20,000 cruise passengers stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, and an estimated 20 billion dollars worth of damages in Houston. Within 56 hours of being classified as a tropical depression, Hurricane Harvey soon upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane on the Friday of August 25.

“The unexpected challenge we had was that this ended up being one of the most epic storms in history,” Joe Gamaldi, vice-president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union told Buzzfeed News.

This excess of rain has led to severe flooding throughout Houston. With approximately 100,000 homes affected, more than 80% lack flood insurance, only homes within the Special Flood Hazard Areas are required to have flood insurance. Standard home insurance does not account for flooding. One must purchase insurance separately from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). However, this insurance source was already 23 billion dollars in debt even before Harvey landed. The government-run program overseen by the The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is predicted to come billions of dollars further in debt from this recent disaster. According to Fox Business, “FEMA estimates that the damage from just one inch of water can exceed $20,000.” Many households surpass these flooding levels.

“One student… went home and had to be evacuated out because there [was] 6 inches of water in it,” AHS alumni and current Freshman at Rice University, Hannah George, said.

While Rice university is located within Houston, Texas, the campus has not been severely affected like the surrounding areas were.

“We’ve been looking at pictures and there are some places where–  like I-10, which is the interstate– where it looks like an ocean,” George said.

The severe flooding however, doesn’t come as a surprise. The Houston area is prone to flooding. On average, the city floods four to five times a year, likely due to the geographical landscape and the aging infrastructure.

“We have a slope that is less than one foot per mile,” Phil Bedient, who teaches civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, told NPR. “And because of that, we have very slow draining systems.”

People hurriedly prepared for Harvey, stocking up on food and water.

“I went to the grocery store, and there was no water left when we went, like everyone else had panicked and gotten water bottles. I have family in Houston and they brought me some water,” George said.

The White House suggested downloading the FEMA app to access a customizable emergency supply checklist, directions to shelters and advisement to evacuate if necessary.

“I urge people to heed the warnings of local officials, and comply with evacuation orders, voluntary and especially mandatory,” Thomas Bossert wrote on the White House website. “Those who willfully ignore evacuation orders not only put themselves at greater risk, they are also endangering the lives of the first responders conducting search and rescue operations.”

People across the nation are handing helping hands to Harvey victims. According to Business Insider, More than 50 local and national charities have raised more than $350 million in nearly three weeks. Red Cross has raised at least $211 million, some of which has come from Aspen High School. Students Sarah and Molly Ben-Hamoo and others who joined, have taken the step to gather donations from people at school to donate to the charity.

“We were watching the news,” Molly Ben-Hamoo began, “and we realized how devastating the whole thing was,” continued her sister, Sarah Ben-Hamoo, “…We wanted to act as quickly as possible.”

There are baskets placed around Aspen High School asking for donations as well as a box asking for clothing.

Although Hurricane Irma landed more recently than Harvey, people continue to acknowledge Harvey and lend helping hands to the struggling areas. If you’d like to help as well, there are many charities to donate to.