AUSTIN, Texas — For more than a week, Texans have gone without power, heat, water or any combination of the three.
This week, a group of about eight volunteers has created a map of resources for people in need.
"I volunteered with a disaster relief group after Hurricane Laura destroyed my hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana," the creator, who requested to remain anonymous, said in text messages to KVUE. "That effort snowballed into 8 weeks of mapping resources for a community with very little to work with."
The volunteers update the map daily as submissions come in with recommendations on where people can get food, medical assistance, fuel and other resources they may need.
"We vet in a couple of ways: by confirming eyewitness accounts, by citing our sources in the point description on the map. For example: City of Austin, Austin Disaster Relief Network, KVUE, etc," the creator said.
In response to demand after posting the map on social media, the group created an email account for people to submit other resource locations that are not already listed on the map.
While Austinites fight through the extreme temperatures, precipitation and the results of them, the creator is in the same boat.
"I'm cold and tired," they said. "My home was without power for 67 hours. I was able to bunk with a friend who had power for a day. His heat went out Wednesday and has not come back on. We now have space heaters and 2 laptops plugged in, and that's it. We have no running water. We've been better, but we're fine. Can’t get back to my home just yet. The roads aren’t cleared."
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