After catastrophic flooding suddenly hit parts of Texas over the July 4th weekend, many across the country watched the devastation unfold on TV and social media. In Louisiana, where memories of our own historic flooding nearly a decade ago remain fresh, some felt called to help however they could.
Among them were Beverly Toups and Emily Quigley. After seeing a TikTok video from a woman in Travis County, one of the hardest-hit areas, they decided to collect and deliver supplies themselves.
MORE: 9-year-old with ties to Assumption Parish among more than 100 dead in Texas flooding
The woman in the video said residents in Leander and Sandy Creek had received no assistance from local or federal officials. That’s when Toups knew she had to act. She turned to Quigley, who immediately agreed to join her.
The pair took to social media, asking for donations of hygiene products, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food, water, baby items, and financial contributions. With more than $5,000 raised, they visited multiple Dollar General stores and packed Quigley’s SUV with supplies before making the nearly 8-hour drive to Texas on July 10.
What they found in Travis County was more intense than they had imagined. Their original plan, to simply drop off supplies, quickly evolved into something much more. The area had no open gas stations or grocery stores, and residents had little access to organized help.
When they arrived in the rural, hilly outskirts of Leander, they had only a street name to go on. Eventually, they located the woman from the TikTok video, who guided them down winding backroads to a makeshift volunteer hub.
“So we got to a volunteer group of just residents and community members gathering together to try and figure out a system to be strategic in deploying search and rescue, because they had over a dozen people who were missing,” she recalled.
Toups and Quigley left some of their donations with the group before heading to the Leander Community Center, where another informal aid station had formed.
“These people are not professionals in this,” Toups explained. “Everybody is just doing the best they can with what they have to try and take in resources and then spread them out where they could. So we dropped off donations of the things that they needed.”
Just a mile away, a key bridge that connected Leander and Sandy Creek had been washed out by floodwaters. According to Toups, it was impassable to all vehicles and only pedestrians could cross.
“They had no way to get across, and people were using the bridge to walk across, but nothing else could go across — no ATV, no four-wheeler, no side-by-side, and certainly no vehicles.”
There were about 400 residents on the other side, many of them elderly, who could not cross the bridge, so Toups and Quigley went to help bring more supplies across.
While they were still in the area, the women experienced some car trouble that led to them pulling off near a field. That’s when they met “JJ,” who needed help searching for members of his family.
Toups said that around 2 or 3 a.m. on July 5, a 14-foot wall of water swept JJ’s home off its foundation and down Sandy Creek. The house broke apart in the current, separating JJ from his wife, 15-year-old son Braxton, and 16-year-old daughter Felicity.
By the time Toups and Quigley arrived, searchers had recovered the bodies of JJ’s wife and son. They had been found more than five miles from the original location. Felicity remains missing. Despite being unprepared physically and emotionally for such a task, the women joined the search effort.
“It was tremendously difficult. I don’t have words,” Toups said. “I don’t think anybody would ever be able to accurately describe what that experience was like. Emily and I are still trying to reconcile a lot of what we experienced or witnessed. We just felt we were being called, then, to put service above ourselves.”
On their second day, they began reaching out via social media to Texas businesses asking for additional help. Among the first to respond was Houston philanthropist “Mattress Mack” and Gallery Furniture, who sent four large trucks loaded with supplies, emergency vehicles, and personnel.
What started as just eight people volunteering at a ranch swelled to nearly 200 within days.
“Since the very first day that we arrived, through every twist and turn, everything that led to another was just a complete and total orchestration by God — there’s no other way to describe it.
“The credit isn’t mine; the credit is God’s. We were just a vessel for the call that He sent us on, and we were obedient to His will. It feels selfish, in a way, to say that we did that. While I know we actually did do those things, it was nothing short of God’s hand being involved in all of it,” Toups said of their experience.
As of last week, volunteers were still recovering bodies across the 900-acre ranch. Officials said the number of missing in hard-hit areas ravaged by the flooding has dropped from nearly 100 to three. The death toll from the July 4 flooding across the state is 134 — including 70 adults and 37 children in Kerry County alone.
How you can help with Texas flooding relief
Since arriving back home, Toups and Quigley haven’t stopped making efforts to get the people in that community assistance. They’re contacting businesses and individuals who can donate resources to help flood survivors and volunteers.
MORE: Texas Hill Country flash floods – How to help
“It absolutely turned into something completely different than the onset of our intentions for us going,” Toups said.
Just this past weekend, Toups’ brother, who owns a catering company, traveled to the area and cooked pastalaya for the roughly 200 volunteers still working the scene.
MORE: Baton Rouge Rougarou still collecting supplies as death toll rises in Texas
Quigley hopes their experience inspires others to help in their own way. “It can be very depressing to see all of these stories, especially for those who can sympathize, because we’ve lived it or had similar experiences with these hurricanes or these floods, but try to make a difference and pour into others. Restore others’ faith in humanity; be the blessing,” she encouraged.
Both women advise caution when donating, as scams often emerge in the wake of disasters. They urge people to give to local, verifiable groups. One such option is JJ’s GoFundMe, which the women have personally verified.
Toups and Quigley continue to stay in contact with residents and volunteers through Facebook and direct outreach. For more information on how to help, donate, or partner your business, contact them at (225) 416-6260 or email beverly@btoupsandco.com and emily@btoupsandco.com.
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