Here’s a chance to return the favor(s) and help the victims of Hurricane Harvey

Countless folks from the Lone Star State came to the aid of Central Florida residents in the wake of the multiple ravaging — and nerve-wracking — hurricanes of 2004. (Do you remember Charley, Jeanne and Frances — and another called Ivan?) Most of these fine Texans — joining Americans from all over — donated to charitable relief agencies, but some traveled hundreds of miles from their homes to be boots on the ground for Central Florida disaster recovery and utility repairs.

Now, we have the opportunity to return the favor(s).

Millions of people in Houston and the greater Gulf Coast areas of Texas are reeling from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, which brought — and continues to bring — an unprecedented amount of rainfall and historic flooding to the state. As this was being written, more than 20 inches of rain had already drenched some parts of southeast Texas, with another 15 to 25 inches of rainfall still expected. A weather analytics company called WeatherBell sized up the rainfall this way for CNN: Harvey produced more than 11 trillion gallons of rain over Texas by about 10 p.m. Sunday, and by the time the storm fully dissipates, the state will have seen a total of 25 trillion gallons of rain. That’s staggering! Can anyone fathom that much rain falling in our neck of the woods in such a short time frame?

How can we help our fellow Americans in Texas? Donating to charitable relief agencies probably is the best and most efficient way, and there are several organizations from which to choose. Consider the following (likely from among dozens of choices):

• American Red Cross — Call 1-800-RED-CROSS, text HARVEY to 90999, or go online to www.redcross.org.

• Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services — Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY or go online to www.salvationarmyusa.org.

• Catholic Charities USA — Text CCUSADISASTER to 71777 or go online to app.mobilecause.com/ccusadisaster.

• Austin Pets Alive! — This pet-advocacy group, which is helping Harvey’s four-legged victims, can be reached through its website, austinpetsalive.org. Additionally, the SPCA of Texas can be reached through its website, spca.org/give.

• Samaritan’s Purse — Go online to www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricaneharvey/.

• Save the Children — Go online to www.savethechildren.org.

• Southern Baptist Disaster Relief — Go online to www.namb.net/send-relief/disaster-relief.

• Heart to Heart International — Go online to www.hearttoheart.org.

• Feeding Texas — Go online to www.feedingtexas.org.

• Houston Food Bank — Go online to www.houstonfoodbank.org.

• Corpus Christi Food Bank — Go online to www.foodbankcc.com.

• Galveston County Food Bank — Go online to www.galvestoncountyfoodbank.org.

• Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group — Go online to www.coastalbendcan.org/DBDRG.

• Texas Diaper Bank — Go online to www.texasdiaperbank.org.

• Coalition for the Homeless — Go online to www.homelesshouston.org.

• Global Giving — This crowdfunding site has a hurricane relief fund at www.globalgiving.org.

• All Hands Volunteers — Go online to www.hands.org/texas-hurricane-response.

Please, if you have the means, do what you can to help the hurricane relief efforts in Texas. From all of us here at Tucker Paving, Inc., thank you.