A number of Texas artists have been vocal about the impact Hurricane Harvey has had on the greater Houston area, and have been actively contributing to the relief effort on the ground. Rap veteran Baby Bash isn't capable of doing much, as he remains stranded in his home, but he was able to get out and contribute food and clothes to a local church early on and is encouraging others to do the same. Bash used such words as "biblical," and "historical" to describe what he's witnessed develop as a result of the storm, but as he puts it: "The flood's one thing, and then the chaos and the anarchy and the craziness and the people just desperate to steal to survive is going to be another issue."
"We're holding in there. The looting is starting. They took my dad's truck and stole it, and they ran into a CVS to try to steal an ATM last night. So, the looting has started," Bash said. Nevertheless, the great majority people are weathering the tragedy, with tons of support coming in from around the country. Bash says his intention is to direct resources and energy to those who more so need it at this point.
It is projected that some 30,000 people will be accommodated with emergency shelter in the coming days. The Houston Convention Center is already approaching 10,000 citizens seeking refuge. That is double its seating capacity. Estimates place the cost of reviving the city from its destruction at anywhere between $30 and $100 billion. The news media hasn't focused much of its attention on looting, and that likely has to do with the backlash media outlets faced for its negative coverage of Hurricane Katrina survivors back in 2005.
