After Harvey hit, 2 and a half ft. of water coursed through the Adams family’s single-story home off Stella Link just north of Brays Bayou. In the video above, Tony Adams gives a tour of what was left after a dozen volunteers from Redemption Church on Timberside Dr. spent 4 hours last Thursday clearing it out and depositing the family’s ruined possessions by the curb.
Then on Sunday, more visitors came by:
This just-launched map tool from civic-minded hacking co-op Sketch City is meant to help homeowners who could use help clearing out soggy carpet and other materials from their flooded homes connect with people willing to volunteer their time and effort to help with that work. It’s called the Texas Muck Map — muck being a useful term in Houston these days. Mucking, in this context (and context truly is everything), means removing carpet or flooring, stripping drywall that was exposed to moisture and is at risk of growing mold, clearing out dirt, furniture, and other junk, and generally getting a flooded home ready to dry out.
Harvey has made sure a lot of homes around these parts will need mucking — over the next several weeks at least. Is that work you or someone you’re helping needs doing? Or work you or people you know are able to help with? The map above identifies the locations of homes people have added to it that need mucking — and the approximate locations of would-be volunteer mucker teams or individuals. (The map might appear sparsely populated now, but if you spread word about it it’s likely to fill up quickly.) Click on any of the icons to see details and contact info, which you can use to make your own connections.
To add your ready-to-be-mucked home to the map, click here and fill out the form. If you’d like to volunteer to muck homes, click here and fill out the form. To see the map in its own browser window, click here, or just go to muckmap.harveyneeds.org. Also on that site: some guidelines for using the map, a disclaimer, and links to several helpful resources about mucking and related issues.
