Though Houston is 600 miles from Tuscaloosa, The University of Alabama community has been closely struck by the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Athletes, students and alumni alike have been impacted by the damage left in the storm’s wake. 

In an email to faculty last week, Kevin Whitaker, executive vice president and provost, as well as David L. Grady, vice president of student life, said that 487 students were from the 18 counties and five parishes affected by Hurricane Harvey. 

“We hope that you will work with these students to help them find the assistance and support that they might need at this time,” the email read. 

One of those students was Crimson Tide cornerback Tony Brown.

Last week, before Alabama’s opening football game against Florida State University, it was revealed that Nick Saban and other prominent UA athletic figures assisted in rescuing Brown’s ill father from his Houston home. According to TideSports.com, a private plane was sent to evacuate Brown’s father from the area. 

Not all have been as fortunate, though. Kara Jones, a senior accounting major, and her family lived in Houston for many years and still have family and friends in their old hometown. Many of their friends in Houston have lost close to everything.

“Many members from our old church have had their homes flooded,” Jones said. “We lost somebody we knew who died trying to help others affected by the hurricane.”

The situation in Houston has caused some students to go home and be with their families in this time of need. Others have decided to stay at the University on the advice of their parents, who want them as far away from the devastation as possible. 

In their email, Whitaker and Grady urged UA faculty to be flexible with students who may have left town or be struggling with the impact of the storm. 

“Please work with impacted students to provide flexibility related to possible missed class or late work because they are working through issues related to the storm and its aftermath,” the email read. 

Current University students aren’t the only ones affected. University alumni who have settled in Houston have also seen the devastation of the storm.

“People are slowly moving on but there are so many roads still closed because water isn’t receding fast enough,” said Natali Czarneski, president of the Houston chapter of the Alabama Alumni Association. “There are also still neighborhoods that cannot be accessed except by boat. Traffic is worse than ever due to road closures but people are still not giving up momentum.”

The devastation caused to those from the Houston area, including home and job loss, has led to University students and alumni banding together to help in any way they can. 

Students and organizations on campus have organized monetary fundraisers and donation drives. Additionally, the Houston chapter of the Alabama Alumni Association has been contributing to Houston relief and Tuscaloosa-Houston student aid in multiple ways. 

Czarneski combined her efforts with other prominent organizations throughout the city to provide aid to families, students and animals affected by the hurricane. She organized Alabama football watch parties in areas all over the city that served as a fundraising opportunity for those affected by the Hurricane. 

“Our alumni chapter has teamed up with our watch party bars and restaurants and even expanded our relief efforts in Clear Lake which was heavily impacted from Harvey,” said Czarneski. “All donations we have received will go toward local no-kill animal shelters, local alumni, Beaumont, local churches and shelters. Our motivation behind doing a donation-based watch party instead of our normal watch party was just our way of giving back to our community.”

Another alumna, Katie Bivens, graduated from the University in 2009 and served as a recruiter for the University for multiple years before moving to Houston and taking up another job. She has witnessed various relief efforts throughout Houston and has seen first-hand how Alabama students, whether they are from the area or not, have contributed toward the relief efforts. 

“We were all affected by Harvey, whether we received water in our homes or not,” Bivens said. “It has only been six days since Harvey moved out of Houston and already millions of dollars have been raised. Countless churches have collected donations and gathered and deployed teams to people’s homes to remove carpet, sheet rock, and baseboards.”

Bivens has a unique perspective of what is going on in Houston, because she was a University employee in Tuscaloosa when the April 27, 2011 tornados destroyed much of Tuscaloosa and left hundreds homeless.

“It is really similar to what Tuscaloosa faced in 2011,” Bivens said. “As devastating as natural disasters are, nothing brings communities closer together. As much as I hated going through the tornado outbreak in 2011, I am actually thankful because it has helped me navigate the choppy emotions that have come with the trauma of the aftermath of Harvey.”

For information on how to assist in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts, students can contact The University of Alabama’s Center for Service and Leadership or visit http://www.houstontx.gov.