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Releases</a></li> </ul> </nav> </section> </section> <section class="page"> <div class="container articlePage"> <div class="advertisement leaderboard"><div id="Leaderboard"></div></div> <article class="main" data-articleid="652494" data-slug="lebaneseamericans-find-shelter-amid-compatriots-during-raging-storm" data-author="Yehia El Amine-" data-categoryname="Lebanon" data-parentname="Lebanon" data-analytics="true" data-pushstate="false"> <div class="add_author"> <a href="http://en.annahar.com/author/5760-Yehia-El-Amine-"><figure class="author_figure desktop" style="background-image: url('https://static.annahar.com/storage/authors/569612112468446609.jpg"></figure></a> <div class="article_intro add_author"> <ul class="breadcrumb"> <li><a href="/section/184-lebanon">Lebanon</a></li> </ul> <h1>Lebanese-Americans find shelter among compatriots during raging storm</h1> <div class="description">With doors nailed shut and windows bordered up, many Lebanese families have felt the ravaging might of Hurricane Harvey, that hit the U.S.’ fourth largest city harder than any other tropical storm reported on record.</div> <div class="author_intro mobile"> <figure style="background-image: url(https://static.annahar.com/storage/authors/569612112468446609.jpg)"></figure> <div> <span><a href="http://en.annahar.com/author/5760-Yehia-El-Amine-">by Yehia El Amine-</a></span> <span><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/@YehiaAmine">@YehiaAmine</a></span> <h4> 1 September 2017 | 11:38</h4> <h4>Source: by Annahar</h4> </div> </div> <ul class="author desktop"> <li><a href="http://en.annahar.com/author/5760-Yehia-El-Amine-">by Yehia El Amine-</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/@YehiaAmine">@YehiaAmine</a></li> <li>Source: Annahar</li> <li itemprop="datePublished" content="2017-09- 1T11:38">Date added:  1 September 2017</li> <li>Last update:  1 September 2017 | 11:38</li> </ul> <ul class="social_share top"> <li><a class="facebook_icon" target="_blank" data-shorturl="http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494" onclick="var sTop = window.screen.height/2-(218); var sLeft = window.screen.width/2-(313);window.open(this.href,'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=256,top='+sTop+',left='+sLeft);return false;" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=facebook"><span class="fbShares desktop"></span><i class="fa fa-facebook"></i></a></li> <li><a class="twitter_icon" href="https://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&via=Annahar&text=Lebanese-Americans find shelter among compatriots during raging storm&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=twitter" data-count="none" data-size="large" data-url="http://en.annahar.com/article/652494" data-via="annahar" data-lang="en" onclick="var sTop = window.screen.height/2-(218); var sLeft = 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class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <figure class="main_image" style="background-image: url(https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/653/59a5f08ac0442.image_906580_highres.jpg); background-position: 50% 50%"></figure> <figcaption><p><strong></strong> Water from Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Tuesday, August 29, 2017 in Houston. (AP Photo) </p></figcaption> <div class="article_wrapper"> <ul class="social_share side"> <li><a class="facebook_icon" target="_blank" data-shorturl="http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494" onclick="var sTop = window.screen.height/2-(218); var sLeft = window.screen.width/2-(313);window.open(this.href,'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=256,top='+sTop+',left='+sLeft);return false;" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=facebook"><span class="fbShares desktop"></span><i class="fa fa-facebook"></i></a></li> <li><a class="twitter_icon" href="https://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&via=Annahar&text=Lebanese-Americans find shelter among compatriots during raging storm&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=twitter" data-count="none" data-size="large" data-url="http://en.annahar.com/article/652494" data-via="annahar" data-lang="en" onclick="var sTop = window.screen.height/2-(218); var sLeft = window.screen.width/2-(313);window.open(this.href,'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=256,top='+sTop+',left='+sLeft);return false;"><i class="fa fa-twitter"></i></a></li> <li><a class="linkedin_icon" href="https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=linkedin" target="_blank" data-count="none" data-size="large" data-url="http://en.annahar.com/article/652494" data-via="annahar" data-lang="en" onclick="var sTop = window.screen.height/2-(218); var sLeft = window.screen.width/2-(313);window.open(this.href,'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=256,top='+sTop+',left='+sLeft);return false;"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a></li> <li><a class="mail_icon" href="mailto:?subject=Lebanese-Americans find shelter among compatriots during raging storm&body=http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494&utm_campaign=sharebar&utm_medium=email" data-url="http%3A%2F%2Fen.annahar.com%2Farticle%2F652494"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></li> <li><a class="plus" href="#"><i class="fa fa-plus-circle" aria-hidden="true"></i></a></li> </ul> <div class="main_column" itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="text"> <p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">BEIRUT: The storm came in slowly at first, then picked up speed like a runaway freight train.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Darine Mehdi walks slowly between rows of her own countrymen and others from the Middle Eastern region, handing them blankets, food and water, and anything available to aid the people around her who were suffering from&nbsp;the loss of their homes by the storm.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“My 13-year-old daughter and I rushed outside our house to help fellow Lebanese expatriates by providing them with whatever they needed, it was the least we could do for the handful of people out of thousands that were forced out of their homes,” Mehdi told Annahar. </p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">A feeling of anger engulfed Mehdi, however, caused by the absence of Lebanese officials that failed to communicate with them, during such difficult times.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“We didn’t hear from anyone, neither the honorary consul nor any Lebanese officials," she said.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Though sheltered inside with doors nailed shut and windows bordered up, many local Lebanese families still&nbsp;felt the ravaging might of Hurricane Harvey, which&nbsp;hit the U.S.’ fourth largest city harder than any other tropical storm reported on record.</p><p><img class="inlineImage" src="https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/653/08315a54-ca8e-4911-a8df-9d626c757c84_681937.jpg"></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Thus far, of the&nbsp;14,000 Texas National Guard members deployed, the units have&nbsp;made more than 8,500 rescues and more than 26,000 evacuations in the wake of the paralyzing storm. Another 10,000 Guard are set to arrive soon.<br></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">The National Guard&nbsp;deployed with&nbsp;Humvees, high profile LMTVs equipped with bench seats and life preservers for flood victims, and&nbsp; Zodiac river craft.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Father Edward Hanna, a 33-year-old assistant priest at Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Church in Houston, hailing originally from the North Lebanon town of Kobayath, welcomed whole-heartedly as many Lebanese families as possible, affected by the storm, into the church’s safe quarters.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“Not many people were able to make it to the church, but the ones who did only remain for a short period of time as other accommodations are&nbsp;being prepared to safely wait out the crippling storm,” Father Hanna told Annahar, noting that the church is currently hosting five families.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">He highlighted that food and water were easily accessible due to the heavy stock of provisions the church stored at the request of U.S. government officials while also benefitting from what whatever fleeing families could carry during their swift evacuation.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“We had small windows of time when the weather calmed enough for us to rush to nearby open supermarkets to restock,” Hanna added.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Testimonies told to Father Hanna were heartbreaking, as a number of Lebanese families wept over the permanent damage inflicted to their homes and belongings, while others feared the unknown state of their futures.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">A crushing burden that all must face when the sun reappears from the storm.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“We’ve never seen anything like it. The colossal amount of rain dropping down on us, burying our homes in water, and our inability to check on the fate of our houses due to the extreme conditions outside,” Hanna recites a person as saying.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">According to the Lebanese priest, the church is currently contacting Lebanese citizens and families in Houston to provide additional aid by means of food, water, shelter, and clothes.</p><p><img class="inlineImage" src="https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/653/image3-harvey-goes-wed_821059.jpg"></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“The Lebanese community here is coming together, to aid one another at such difficult times by donating anything from money to clothes, food, and water and even providing shelter at each other’s homes,” Hanna told Annahar.<br></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">On the emergency services front, the devastation of the storm and its aftermath has Houston’s 911 call center operators racing to keep up as people dial in by the tens of thousands.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“This is like nothing we’ve ever experienced before,” operator Erika Wells told the Associated Press. &nbsp;</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">The call center has received approximately 75,000 calls from Sunday until Monday, which is more than eight times the normal daily load, and those dialing sometimes endured long waits to reach an operator, according to the AP.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">In a single hour, dozens of calls can arrive at a single operator’s headset.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Luckily, for 52-year-old Lebanese expatriate Alberto Tohme, he experienced a less intense storm then his fellow countrymen.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“In our area, water levels rose considerably but didn’t quite enter our homes, however, I heard they breached many Lebanese households across the city, leaving severe damages,” Tohme told Annahar.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">The Metn native pointed out that a number of the Lebanese community in Houston resorted to the OurLady of the Cedars Church for refuge from the category 4 storm; noting that the rising river levels played a big role in the spread of water onto land.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"> </p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“The situation quickly went from bad to worse in a mere 24 hours, with main highways becoming ponds, roads blocked off and houses becoming inhabitable; many were relieved after the opening of a number of evacuation centers to welcome the vast number of people,” he noted.</p><p><div class="noReload embed inlineVideo" style="text-align: center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mmv8F84TGJY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“Although the flood affected many citizens in general, nothing serious happened to Lebanese residing there, to our knowledge,” Charge D’Affairs at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, Carla Jazzar told Annahar.<br></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“In spite of minor incidents, nothing major, no major losses or deaths have occurred to any Lebanese citizens, that we have been informed of,” she added.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Jazzar added that the embassy&nbsp;has been&nbsp;engaged with the Lebanese community, and the honorary consul in Houston, Texas, Amin Bohsali, is in touch with the community to make sure everything and everyone are okay.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">While many stayed put, barricading themselves within their own homes or were&nbsp;evacuated towards safety by authorities, Ziad Habbal decided to take matters into his own hands.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Following multiple calls by&nbsp;the police to evacuate homes in his area due to rising water levels, Habbal proceeded to pack up his belongings and loved ones in his car and drive northwest to Austin.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“I cut the power to the house, packed up and drove six hours to Austin in the pouring rain and heavy wind to reach any hotel, myself and my family could find, to wait out the storm as it passes,” Habbal told Annahar.</p><p><div class="noReload embed inlineVideo" style="text-align: center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/He4mwV5EA0Q?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">The Lebanese expat highlighted, however, that he didn't receive a phone call either from the Lebanese Embassy nor the honorary consul in Houston contrary to the embassy’s statement, which pushed parts of the Lebanese community to fend for itself through various social media outlets to support one another.<br></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">As the Gulf Coast comes to grips with Harvey’s humanitarian toll, the US government must face the music in terms of the cost.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Experts predicted that the federal disaster-aid price tag for Harvey will be significantly higher than Hurricane Katrina in 2005, setting a multi-billion dollar record.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“When you look at the comparisons – the population, the size, the square-mile area impacted both by the hurricane swath and the flooding – it’s far larger than Katrina, far larger than Sandy,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott told the Associated Press.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">According to the Scientific American Journal, federal spending on Katrina has been estimated at $120 billion, while super storm Sandy, which hit the New Jersey coast in 2012, is estimated to have cost nearly $50 billion.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Estimates on Harvey are still being calculated, but preliminary economic forecast done by the private weather firm AccuWeather puts the future price tag at $160 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">On the other side of Houston, Lebanese expat Pierre Daniel was admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning – when the storm reached its peak – and was soon slated for airlifting to a safer location in fear of possible damages to hospital by the weather.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“When I overheard the nurse talking about airlifting me to safer areas, I directly pulled out my IV tubes and headed directly to my truck to reach my family and take them to safety,” Daniel told Annahar.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Daniel, who’s been residing in the U.S. for almost 17 years, echoed Habbal’s words, also criticizing both the Lebanese consulate and embassy for failing to contact him and his family; he, however, found refuge and support with a number of his fellow countrymen within the city.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">“Us Lebanese people are used to armed conflicts and taking refuge underground during the civil war, which is why I didn’t worry much about the storm outside,” he said.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><br></p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">For those with loved ones living in the hard hit parts of Texas and Louisiana, tell us their story and if they are safe. Send news to: yehia.elamin@annahar.com.lb</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">-------------</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Annahar correspondents Paula Naoufal, Rolande Ghussayni and Lyn Hariri contributed to this report.</p><p style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><br></p> <div class="related_topics"> <h2>Related Articles</h2> <ul> <li class="third"> <a href="/article/749004-nicolas-elmir-17yearold-prodigy-from-lebanon-to-silicon-valley"> <figure style="background: url(https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/750/el.mir4_509815_medium.jpg); background-size: cover"></figure> <h3 class="title">Nicolas el-Mir: 17-year-old prodigy, from Lebanon to Silicon Valley</h3> </a> </li> <li class="third"> <a href="/article/748141-the-hustle-a-modest-guide-to-bootstrap-startups"> <figure style="background: url(https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/749/102768-RSJsKUNQ2CX1T1WIJxv8-P4_681514_602659_medium.jpg); background-size: cover"></figure> <h3 class="title">The Hustle: A modest guide to bootstrap startups</h3> </a> </li> <li class="third"> <a href="/article/652887-as-floodwaters-recede-houston-officials-look-to-recovery"> <figure style="background: url(https://static.annahar.com/storage/attachments/653/Houston_435163_medium.jpg); background-size: cover"></figure> <h3 class="title">As floodwaters recede, Houston officials look to recovery</h3> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <a href="#" class="show-comments">Show Comments</a> <div class="fb-comments-container"> <div class="detector"></div> <p>An-Nahar is not responsible for the comments that users post below. 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