Hurricane Harvey: Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys Each Donate $1 Million

HOUSTON, TX — The Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys have come together this week to help recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which left the city of Houston and surrounding areas devastated. The Texans and Cowboys each pledged to donate $1 million, and the New England Patriots and the NFL Foundation both matched those donations.

The Texans and Cowboys are scheduled to play each other this Thursday night at NRG Stadium, but that game could potentially be moved to Dallas. Houston played in New Orleans on Saturday but couldn’t get back home, so they flew to Dallas. The Texans have been practicing at the Cowboys practice facility in Frisco.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien said his team and players would dedicate the 2017 season to the city of Houston.

Over 30,000 People Might Need Shelter After Harvey

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"These dollars will be put to go use in the relief and recovery efforts," O'Brien said Monday during a news conference after practice at The Star in Frisco. "We also hope our actions will encourage others to do whatever they can to help their neighbors in need right now.

"You know football, obviously, is important, but I think the most important thing right now is doing everything we can for our city. I can tell you right now, we're going to dedicate this season to the city of Houston, to the people of Houston. There are no guarantees in football — that's not what I'm here to say. But I will guarantee this team will go out every Sunday, Monday, Thursday -— whenever they ask us to play — and we'll play our asses off for the city of Houston, I promise you that."

J.J. Watt Sets Up Fundraiser

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for flood victims, and then he donated $100,000.

"To see it going through such a disaster and not be there, not be able to help, it's very difficult to have to watch it from afar and see it on TV and look at streets that you know and you can barely recognize them under all the water," Watt said. "Houston, we're in this together."

By noon on Monday, more than $430,000 had been raised. Here's where you can add to the fund.

Hurricane Harvey And Its Powerful Punch

Harvey punched Texas in the mouth Friday night when the Category 4 storm slammed into Rockport, Corpus Christi and the coastal bend with winds of 130-plus miles per hour. The giant storm’s outer bands began saturating Texas from Beaumont to Austin, and the eye moved inland and east to Houston, where it meandered.

The brutality of Hurricane Harvey continues to wallop Houston and the Texas coast. The storm that has taken at least six lives has been called epic, unprecedented and devastating, and its punishing effects harshly linger. First responders and good Samaritans are searching neighborhoods by boat to look for thousands still stranded in their homes, and mass evacuations are underway while Harvey regroups for another landfall on Tuesday.

Harvey, now a tropical storm, has dropped up to 40 inches of rain in some parts of Houston and surrounding cities. Forecasters say more is on the way, which means this storm’s totality could be more than 50 inches of rain when it’s all said and done. Of note, Houston averages 50 inches of rainfall a year, making this a catastrophic event.

How to Help

There are other ways to donate or help out, including redcross.org. Here is a list of online donation sites to help the effort.

Photo via Associated Press