Jane Wong

Jane Wong lives in Katy, Texas with her parents, siblings, and grandmother. During Hurricane Harvey, every house in her neighborhood flooded. Wong recalls that her mother was nervous about Harvey as it approached and had Wong and her siblings move most of the furniture in the house to the second floor to protect from flooding.

They also tried to block their doors with plastic to keep the water out. However, water did not come in through the doors, but through drains in the house. Wong says that she and her family evacuated on kayaks the morning after their house flooded and that they stayed with friends nearby who had not flooded. Wong remembers her grandmother receiving a lot of help from volunteers as they were being evacuated. She explains that it was very odd to see boats going down the streets of her neighborhood, and that her family was one of the last to leave the neighborhood because they did not think anything bad was going to happen. Her family did not have flood insurance and later found out that their neighborhood had been built where houses were not supposed to have been built. The neighborhood filed a lawsuit against the developers. She says that while her family did not want to overstay their welcome at their friend’s house, the friends were very welcoming and wanted to help. Her family then moved into an empty rental property owned by another family friend. Wong says that the process of getting aid from FEMA was very challenging for her parents, and that they did not get the amount they wanted. Her family demolished their old house and built a new one on the same lot and was able to move in the following January. Her family held many parties and barbeques to thank neighbors for their help. Her father also purchased a new truck after the storm so that if their neighborhood floods again he will be able to help others evacuate.