January 24, 2023
...hub captains played a central role in preparedness and response this year. All seven captains were active in checking in on neighbors, distributing supplies directly from each hub and helping with training and educating the broader community.
Last week Houston experienced yet another deep freeze – our third hard freeze in the past four years.
From Sunday January 14 through Wednesday the 17th, temperatures in Houston barely got above freezing and fell as low as 20F. Just as we have to prepare for heavy rains as a matter of fact it should now be clear that Houston will have a hard freeze most winters. As usual, governments have yet to establish effective and realistic approaches to keep the water flowing, the power on, and people warm in this changing climate.
But each storm has taught West Street Recovery and the Northeast Action Collective new lessons on distributed and empowering disaster preparedness. Following Winter Storm Uri in 2021 we launched our hub house program, switched to using freeze resilient piping material and started implementing backup power and water systems. After the Christmas Eve 2022 freeze we refocused on skills trainings and distributing supplies to households before, instead of during, disasters. In our post-freeze debrief last week, NAC members expressed that these preparations helped assuage the anxiety that often precedes extreme weather events in Houston.
This was our first big weather event with the hub houses fully operating. Four hubs are over one year old and fully outfitted, and three smaller hubs began last fall. Hub captains played a central role in preparedness and response this year. All seven captains were active in checking in on neighbors, distributing supplies directly from each hub and helping with training and educating the broader community.
Insulating Pipes
In the week leading up to the freeze, we reviewed with the NAC strategies to stay warm, minimize risk of broken pipes and use the hub houses. We ordered thousands of dollars of pipe wrap, faucet bibs and duct tape to give away from each of the hubs. Five NAC volunteers trained up on how to use these supplies to insulate pipes, and then each visited several homes that needed help wrapping. Doris Brown always says “each one, teach one” is not just a phrase, it is also a time tested survival strategy.
Restoring Water Access
8 households in our network have reached out to us about pipe breaks since last Monday. We were able to restore running water to three of these houses within 24 hours of the break. While some houses only needed patches, we are still working on a few that have enough damage to need a full repipe. And unfortunately, we are sure that more needs will arise over the next few months. Full repipes cost between $3000- $5000 : please consider donating to fund these efforts. A silver lining from past freezes is that we installed freeze-resilient PEX piping on dozens of homes in previous years, and none of them suffered serious breaks during this latest freeze.
One of the pipes we repaired was NAC member Ms. Rita Robles: The pipes in my father’s home are over 40 years old and have broken each freeze since Uri in 2021. I’m my father’s caregiver and he had this house built for my mother and us kids when we first moved here. This year I was very meticulous about insulating the pipes, but we still had issues with leaks because they are galvanized and very fragile. I expect we will have to keep patching each year, but a full repipe is too expensive.
Distributing Heaters
This year, hub captains gave out 40 electric heaters to families with no heat, or heating systems that cannot cope with 72 hours of freezing temperatures. These heaters were permanently given away so those families can stay warmer all winter. We also lent out indoor-safe propane heaters, CO monitors, solar powered batteries, emergency blankets, heating pads, and hand warmers.
NAC hub captain Neandra Boyd said: “In my neighborhood East Sunnyside, there’s a lot of seniors with no central air or central heat. I was able to give them heaters and water, and it felt good to be in a position to lend a helping hand. I met some who had broken pipes and we were able to get them fixed too.”
As seems to be the case every winter we will be under houses and in attics improving resilience and restoring water access. This latest storm has created additional stress on our budget right as the year began. We always appreciate unrestricted support, but if you are interested in donating to our plumbing work in particular let us know! We are proud of our efforts, and grateful for your support.
With love and hope,
WSR
