A former Jim Thorpe resident finally returned to her Houston home after Hurricane Harvey devastated one of America’s largest cities.

Susko had been ready to return to her home and two guinea pigs, Pete and Pip, after a week in Colorado when her Aug. 27 flight was canceled three times before the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston was officially closed.“I found out about it when I got a text from my friend about dropping food and water off to my apartment,” she said.“That’s when I started to realize it was going to be a big deal.”Houston’s airport recorded its largest rainfall that day with a 16.07 inches total of rain and 130 mile-an-hour winds.Susko quickly reworked her travel plans, flying into Philadelphia and made the trip to her parents’ home in Jim Thorpe and waited to fly back to the large metropolitan area on Sept. 3.“People got stuck at the airports,” she said.“I was lucky,” Susko said.“Some of the highways are still flooded. I had to take back roads. There are signs around that say, ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown,’ ” she said.Susko landed in Houston after night had fallen on the city and only realized the extent of the damage when she walked around her neighborhood Monday morning.“It’s the houses that really were flooded. Apartments are in better shape. But people without flood insurance, I don’t know what they will do,” she said.Susko resides in what is known as the Energy Corridor, a large business district located near both the Barker and Addicks reservoirs, which work together as one of the flood control systems for Buffalo Bayou.“Water from Harvey went down, but Eldridge Parkway was flooded from the dam and reservoirs that overfilled. Controlled dam releases were started to help with the pressure behind the dams, and that has flooded the area,” she said.“The water has nowhere to go. There are cars in the street where you can see maybe just the car’s windows or roofs,” she said.An estimated 9 trillion gallons washed out the city that is home tomore than 2 million people.“On the news it’s post-apocalyptic, but in some areas of the city it’s totally fine. You get mixed messages,” she said.“Some places the water’s gone down and people are going home and ripping their houses apart. Some people can’t get in because it’s still flooding from the reservoirs and dams,” she said.“And then there are people like me just trying to find ways to help and wait for stores and buildings to open,” she said.“You are confined to your area. I have friends who were stuck in their apartments for five days,” she said.One way time is being spent by residents waiting for Houston to dry out is through working together and volunteering.Susko spent her first day home handing out pre-constructed flood relief and flood recovery kits containing toiletries or cleaning supplies at the St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church across the street from her apartment.“It’s hard on people just as individuals with their own families, but everyone is coming together,” she said.The 24-year-old Jim Thorpe Area High School graduate took a job as a communications specialist with The Dow Chemical company more than a year ago and relocated to the southern state in January.Susko says she is fortunate to live close to her job, but the office building is closed and will remain so until sometime next week.She says her employers have been offering interest-free loans to employees who suffered flood damage and have donated $1 million to flood relief efforts.Susko said monetary donations are needed most to help with the devastating aftermath of the storm.For anyone wishing to donate, Susko recommends the nonprofit Houston Food Bank.“They are easily the most effective and wonderful group I have ever worked with,” she said.The Houston Food Bank is part of the Feed America Network and is, “Effective at getting the money where it needs to go. This will be a long-term recovery,” Susko said.Donations for victims devastated by the hurricane can be made to the Portwall Headquarters at 535 Portwall St. Houston, Texas 77029 or

www.houstonfoodbank.org.