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By Windspeaker.com Staff
With files from Dustin McGladrey of CFWE-FM
Harvey slipped by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas for the most part, but the tribe didn’t go unscathed by the hurricane that has devastated Houston.
“We didn’t catch it as bad as other places,” said Ron Thomas. “We caught a lot of rain, some flooding, the washed out roads. We’ve got a number of leaks in roofs, seeing damage and all that’s associated with it… currently we are doing damage assessments for the roads and residences.”
Roads are open into the reservation however, but Hurricane Irma is on the horizon and the tribe is preparing for the coming days.
“We learned a lot back in ’05 when Hurricane Rita came through,” said Thomas about those preparations. The tribe developed a hazard mitigation plan, purchased generators which are wired up to the administrative offices, police department, multi-purpose centre. They established an emergency management office.
They are “ready as can be,” said Thomas. While he situation in the state is disheartening, Thomas said, “Mother Nature, you can’t tell her what to do.”
He asks for prayers from the people of Canada, prayers for the people of Texas and Louisiana, and wherever the hurricanes hit.
“Pray for things to work out in a good way for everybody.”