AmeriCares Responds to Severe Flooding in Texas

AmeriCares Foundation
Monday, 15 July 2002

AmeriCares, the national and international disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization, has responded to the severe flooding that has gripped the state of Texas. Bottled water, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies have been delivered to the affected regions, with more materials expected to be sent over the next few weeks.

The flooding in central Texas has already claimed nine lives and is expected to move southward as the floodwaters continue to flow toward the coast. With damage estimates ranging close to $1 billion, and nearly 50,000 homes destroyed, the flood has quickly become one of the worst in the history of the state. Twenty-four counties have been declared federal disaster areas, with the addition of 11 more last week by President Bush. Although the southern parts of the state have not yet seen the amount of devastation that central Texas has, dozens of homes have already been damaged. The floodwaters, which have only recently begun to recede, have given way to the beginning of an extensive cleanup effort.

"A flood of this magnitude has never been seen in Texas," says Peter Tokarczyk, AmeriCares' Director of Disaster Responses. "AmeriCares will be aiding the people of Texas for as long as they need our help."

The relief supplies AmeriCares has sent to Texas are being distributed throughout four separate disaster sites that have been established by the local Salvation Army.

For more information, or to contact AmeriCares Foundation, see their website at: www.americares.org