Marylanders Join Effort In Helping Hurricane Harvey Victims In Texas

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- The wrath of Harvey is unlike anything that's hit Texas before.

Families are desperate to find their loved ones, countless survivors are waiting to be rescued, while ambulances are overloaded with calls.

Thousands remain in shelters throughout Houston, while others are waiting for more shelters to open up.

Good Samaritans in Maryland started to do their part with Boy Scouts Troop 24/7 showing the way and the Girl Scouts helping to unload.

"I dropped off a mix. It was some cat food and some laundry detergent, and some baby diapers," Nan Nawrocki said.

The front lot of a White Marsh business became the drop-off spot for loads of necessities bound for Texas.

"We have a lot of family in Texas and friends and we just hope they are OK," said Cassandra Diaz who donated.

The company initially had plans to send one trailer, but the donations kept coming in, so now they may have two, possibly three, trucks.

"This here just felt right. We just felt like we needed to do something," said Rick Fishpaugh of Bobby's Portable Restrooms.

The storm has had devastating effects on the fourth largest city in the country, the White House said as many as 100,000 homes may have been impacted.

Richard Scanlan, a Red Cross volunteer and a Towson resident, was deployed to Texas.

"This is probably the worst thing that hit the states in a very long time," Scanlan said. "They're not the wealthiest people in the world, they are lower middle class, they struggle to make a living and what they have, they lost, they lost everything."

Scanlan is a lead shelter manager and has already operated one. He's now in the process of trying to run another in Austin.

"When you wake up in the morning and everything you own is gone, except what you wear, you need a lot of stuff, you need a place to sleep, a place to eat," he said.

The Ravens are now pitching in as well by donating $1 million to recovery efforts.

The archbishop of Baltimore called on people to donate and pray.

"They are our brothers and sisters, let us be close to them in prayer," Archbishop William Lori said.

Volunteers from the Red Cross who are in Texas said every single donation, even if it's 25 cents, will go a long way for those that are dealing with arguably the worst days of their lives.

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In:
• Red Cross
• Texas
• Towson
• Baltimore Ravens
• Harvey