Carolyn Littleton & Shelia Whitfield

Carolyn Littleton and Shelia Whitfield are both native Houstonians who experienced flooding during Hurricane Harvey. Littleton and Whitfield, sisters, recall living through Hurricane Carla as children in 1961. Both women, throughout the interview, emphasize the importance of protecting meaningful items, such as photographs, after they lost many during Harvey.

Littlefield describes the idea of Houston Strong as a sense of being able to go on after a disaster and says that only in Houston do strangers open their houses during times of need. Neither Littleton nor Whitfield was staying at their home during the flooding, but both describe how they relied on neighbors to relay information about the flood damage. Littlefield says that the hardest thing about the storm was deciding not to return to her home after she decided not to pay for repairs a third time. Both women contend flooding is a common occurrence in Houston and mention that they experienced street flooding a few days prior to the interview. Finally, Littleton and Whitfield talk about how the citizens and the city of Houston responded to the storm.