Hurricane Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday, but the impact it left across the Texas coast could be felt for quite some time.
The storm, which hit landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Friday night and still lingers as a tropical storm, caused major destruction and massive flooding.
The areas affected will see days of rain, which officials say will bring "catastrophic flooding."
More than 300,000 people have lost power.
While Harvey’s wind speed dropped to 70 mph, well below the previous 130 mph winds that made it a Category 4 hurricane and the worst to hit the country in more than a decade, it has still caused significant damage.
There are ways to help those in need.
Boone-based Samaritan's Purse disaster relief units are headed to Texas to assist those struggling with rain, flooding and destruction. They are raising donations here.
The Salvation Army is asking for donations here for hurricane relief efforts.
You can donate through the American Red Cross here.
Harvey has affected hundreds of children and families in the U.S. Save the Children's emergency responders are seeking donations to help kids and families whose lives will be impacted by the hurricane.
Local groups to assist in aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
An evacuation order remains in effect along some parts of Texas' Gulf Coast because of the sheer amount of destruction in the area after Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm.
Debris, as well as utility poles, are littering the streets and highways, and crews are having difficulty surveying the losses.
As the devastation from Hurricane Harvey continues, local response teams are pouring into Texas and pouring out resources
Gov. Roy Cooper announced some of those resources will come from North Carolina, including two of the state’s helicopter rescue teams, eight airmen from the National Guard and a half dozen rescuers from across the state, three of them from the Charlotte Fire Department.
“Good neighbors are always ready and willing to lend a helping hand when asked,” Cooper said in a statement.
David Crockett, from the American Red Cross, is headed to Texas Monday morning to join more than 20 local volunteers who are already there.
“They have told me ahead of time to expect anything and everything, so to speak,” Crockett said. “I don't know if I'm living in a tent. I have no idea where I'll be or what the conditions are.”
Nearly a dozen staff members from Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse touched down in Dallas, Texas, and then drove nearly 300 miles to one of the hardest hit areas.
“Just getting there, we can already feel the intensity of what we're about to walk into,” said Kaitlyn Lahm, of Samaritan’s Purse.
The organization has already sent a pair of tractor-trailers stocked with tools, generators and supplies.
Volunteers expect their work in Texas to take weeks, possibly even months.
Several said they are prepared to stay as long as they are needed.
“It's going to take many months here, if not years,” Crockett said.
(5 Hurricane Facts)
Crews with Samaritan's Purse, whose situation room is in North Wilkesboro, sent Channel 9 photos from where they are watching damage reports roll in.
“We find and target areas where water has been in the house and there is property damage,” said Tim Hass, a manager of disaster relief. “We begin to mud out the house. We begin to help with personal belongings.”
The Billy Graham rapid response team is joining Samaritan's Purse on the trip.
The first group of chaplains is already in Texas and helped make sure evacuees are safe.
They plan to focus on those evacuation centers and helping the families, displaced by the storm.
Lowe's has donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross disaster relief to help provide food, emergency shelter, relief supplies and comfort to those affected.
Lowe's Emergency Command Center is in full activation, and since mid-week, has been coordinating and expediting truckloads of emergency supplies to communities affected by the storm.
At this time, only one Lowe's store is closed to damage, Lowe's of Aransas Pass, Texas.
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