I don't want to say this the wrong way and I really hope folks don't take this the wrong way, but before you just grab some gas and water and hop in the rig and head for Texas, read this first:
Lone Star MVPA - ('05 Hurricane Katrina Experience) All of it. Carefully. Then read it again.
Then take a couple minutes and think. First, realize completely and fully just how bad this could have gone for this guy. I absolutely respect and admire his integrity, initiative, forethought, and backbone, but his work was almost ended several times and he was incredibly lucky not to have lost everything. A ton of folks piled into Louisiana after Katrina to try and help out and ended up much worse off than he did. Then also think; Do I have enough stuff(fuel/parts/food/water/medical) to operate
completely independent of any kind of support for the amount of time I am going to be there? The logistics and supply system there is going to be shot to hell, there will be very little fuel, food, potable water, medical supplies, or truck parts there for several weeks at least.
Then realize that not having a military vehicle and uniform means you will probably be turned back at most road blocks, or at least redirected multiple times and your offers of help possibly even lost in the logistical nightmare shuffle which accompanies any large scale disaster. The last thing anyone wants to do is make this bad situation any worse than it already is by adding to the problem. (And it's gonna get worse before it gets better, that's just how these things go. At least that's how the big ones go; something this big is going to take many, many months before things get back to some kind of normal for the people there.)
I'm not going to mention weapons or munitions here, that's a subject for another forum. But is
is Texas after all, and they got plenty of guns there already. (So a few more probably wouldn't change anything. But do be aware that people packing guns do make the Feds nervous.)
If anyone is still bound and determined that they are going to go in there and to hell with me and my advice, OK at least I tried, but please-please-please go online before you go and take some short online disaster response classes and bring the certificates with you, it will go a long way and won't take more than a few hours. Hopefully it will help you be part of the solution and not just part of the problem. Here's some links:
Emergency Management Institute - Independent Study (IS) | Search Results Course List
https://www.nvoad.org/how-to-help/
3 keys to rescuing, evacuating and managing Hurricane Harvey victims
Some of my friends and EMA coworkers are already loading up to deploy down there and many more are going through the team support packages and getting things ready(er) to go. Probably the teams will be going in rotations, that's how they did Katrina. Many teams all over the US have already deployed and many more are on standby to rotate in as the teams get used up, so things
are happening, some help is already on the ground operating and more help is on the way.
Now if somebody could just get the damn rain to stop...