“As the sun peaked through my living room window, I stood near my stairs with a horror look on my face, my home was slowly flooding.”
Dario Montes De Oca woke up at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning not knowing his life was about to change. He got up, took a shower, and started to get ready for work. He has lived in Conroe, Texas for several years and had never heard the rain come down as hard as it was that morning.
“I turned on the tv to watch the news and that is when I heard them talking about the river near my home growing quickly,” Dario said.
He ran outside and noticed that the street had already began to flood. He rushed back in the house and woke up his wife and kids and let them know that the streets were flooding. They all jumped up and ran downstairs to try and move things to the second floor of their home so the water would not destroy them.
“We tried to move quickly but the water continued to rise until we were standing in 3 feet of water inside our home,” Dario said. His wife and kids grabbed what they could and ran out of the house where a Montgomery County rescue team was waiting for them to take them to safety.
Dario decided to stay behind and tried to move more of their belongings to higher ground so hopefully everything would not be a total loss. “I’ve worked so hard all my life to be able to give my family a good life and for us to lose everything in a matter of minutes is devastating,” Dario said.
After moving as much as he could, Dario ran outside and jumped on a large tractor that he owns, hoping it would be high enough to get his out of the flooded waters. Sadly, it was no match for the water, and he stalled out in the middle of the street. Luckily for Dario the rescue team was still nearby and was able to reunite him with his family and take them to the American Red Cross shelter at the Lone Star Community Center in Montgomery.
“My family and I have been at the shelter for two days and we are very grateful that the Red Cross is here for us,” Dario said. “You don’t ever think that you will need someone to help you when you have done it on your own for so long but knowing that and organization like the Red Cross exists gives me peace of mind that we are not alone.”
Dario is expected to be able to return to his home on Tuesday to see what damage the flooding left behind. “I know we have lost all four of our cars and I am sure that there will be a lot of repairs needed to my home, but I know the Red Cross will help guide me through the recovery process and I am appreciative of them.”
To help flooding victims like Dario and his family please go to redcross.org/Texas to donate today.
Story By: Vanessa Valdez
Texas Gulf Coast American Red Cross 
This is devestation,
I did see the table line, of water to be very low. If you live on the bank, and the water rises from the ground and spills over road ways and intersections, this is to be expected. however the ground is soaking up 97 Percent at a rate of 1minitue. Do the math it will go somewhere.
We need to build up the infrastructour, with the bills that get passed through Congress. FEMA could have oversite for the National Federal Funding or Proposed resourses filtered down to DRO, HSEM, Regional The American Red Cross. This could be created as I have seen very many successful outcomes on DROS, withThe American Red Cross I have worked in Lone Star Community Center, in Montgomery County. HHS needs to be avaliable to the public, local organization that do have an NPO incorporated within the City can have there own oversite. I belive if we incorporate our HHS we will have a healthier nation.
Generations to come can have clean resourses, from Public Works to affordable housing, where the homless are treated with dignity. Regardless of the Status Disabilities, Health History, Sex, Sexual Orientaion & Gender.
“No taxation without representation”
If we get the community involved, I belive whole-heartidly this operation would funding itself: I propose a 5 year plan per City in U.S.A TX
HQ Washington D.C. FEMA BANK 1
RE: I did see alot of homeless incampments, alot of underserviced areas. this is a cause for concern. As the health of other, could potential spread and mutate to an unknown pathogen. p&
A long term goal for a DRO hould be intergrating HHS for this reagion, if there was the money for this grant that I propose. Then we can budget and forcast predict outcomes, in the DCS It would be a cycle of growth and prosperity to the, region and I beleive the State of TX as a whole.
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