One A&M student has begun a spur-of-the-moment relief effort to aid the thousands of Houston residents who have been affected by the flooding this week.
Caroline Corrigan, a communication senior from Houston, posted on Facebook Tuesday that she would collect donations for Houston residents who have been put out of their homes as a result of the flooding. Corrigan is collecting bottled water and gatorade, snacks, toiletries, diapers, baby food and household-cleaning supplies at the Zeta Tau Alpha house.
“I was born and raised in Houston, and the idea of flooding happening in Houston is not something anyone thinks about,” Corrigan said. “Many people don’t have flood insurance, because most people don’t think that’s something that would happen to them. But as I’m sitting in College Station I keep seeing on Facebook my entire city under water.”
Corrigan said while her family hasn’t personally been affected by the flooding, seeing others experiencing hardships inspired her to start the drive.
“I don’t know how, but all my family has had no damage,” Corrigan said. “But I mean looking through my Facebook — I saw one of my friends in Houston in The Houston Chronicle, because her entire house was completely flooded — just seeing someone you know in so much trouble, there’s no way I could just watch it.”
The donation drive began Tuesday, and Corrigan said she’s already had a few donations, but expects to see a lot more in the coming days. 
“I just started it yesterday, so it’s brand new, but I’ve gotten a few people to give me stuff from my organization so I’m hoping to get more,” Corrigan said. “I’ll be collecting all week at the Zeta house.”
Corrigan said she plans to bring the items to a group in Houston who has teamed up with a storage facility in order to collect and distribute donations.
“Online I saw that the Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce had teamed up with Big Tex Storage for a donation drop off, so eventually when I get all the donations I plan on dropping them off to them and they’ll be distributing them throughout the Houston area,” Corrigan said.
Corrigan said if flooding continues and people are still in need, she plans to extend her donation drive through next week.
“Right now, I believe seven people have passed away and over 1,200 have been evacuated,” Corrigan said. “And rain is supposed to continue to come, so they’re just going to need so much more.”