Anadarko Helps Fannett And Beaumont TX Hurricane Victims

After the hurricane, a lot of attention has been drawn to the larger cities for recovery. One small city in Oklahoma is making sure the little towns wrecked by Hurricane Harvey are not forgotten.

A town called Fannett, Texas is just outside of Beaumont. A little over 2,000 people live there. Almost every building in the town was flooded, as the town received over 40 inches of rain.

Resident Beverly Reese describes the rising water. She said, “I was just praying that it would stop, stop coming in.”

A couple, Danielle and Vincent Eaves, describe evacuating with their pets and family, and taking two elderly neighbors with them. They didn’t know if they would make it out.

No one in Fannett has ever seen so much rain and flooding.

Robert “Scooter” Wenner is the pastor of First Baptist Church Fannett. He learned that the church did not have flood insurance, and felt discouraged after seeing the damage. “It was a faith challenging event for me, I must say,” said Wenner. But he quickly realized the humanity and kindness in people. He started getting calls from strangers and friends.

On Thursday, he received a call from the emergency manager of Anadarko, Oklahoma. “I didn’t know him at all,” said Wenner. “I don’t even know how he got my number and he said I’d like to bring some water.”

A group of city leaders from Anadarko arrived in Southeast Texas with a 53-foot truck loaded with supplies. It wasn’t just water, but also pet food, toiletries, diapers, and blankets.

Anadarko Mayor Kyle Eastwood said, “We felt that as a local government, we can come in and maybe help with a similar town of our size.” Eastwood said he understands the limited resource that comes with being a smaller city. Anadarko has about 6,500 people and has suffered tornadoes before.

Pastor Wenner was touched by the generosity. “Sometimes we feel like we’re neglected and left out,” he said, “It’s just moving. It’s touching.”