As the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey slowly recede, the city’s mayor declared that Houston is ‘open for business’ on Sunday.
As for the landscaping businesses, it may be a while before they will be able to get things up and running. The Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (TNLA) has been calling its members to see how they’re doing, but also has a page on its website where members can email TNLA about their status.
The organization’s webpage also allows businesses to post requests for help as much equipment has been lost during the flooding. Experts says that up to one million cars have been possibly damaged by the floodwaters and State Farm has received 20,000 claims from the Houston area already, according to WGNTV.com.
For other TNLA members unaffected by the storm, the Hurricane Harvey page allows them to volunteer resources or respond to a request for help.
Most company owners have still not been able to visit their businesses to assess the damage. TNLA has told members that it has staff on hand to help walk them through the hurricane recovery process and also includes a list of resources on its Hurricane Harvey page.
The resources include FEMA assistance, disaster loan assistance and FAQs about Hurricane Harvey.
On Twitter, TNLA told others in #LandscapeChat that connecting people with people will be essential in the rebuilding.
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) is also offering pro bono help to landscape companies in need and asks to be contacted for help.
For more information about TNLA, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter or go to their website here.