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| Houston Residents, Heading Home, Find Scent of ‘Mildew and Death’ | Houston Residents, Heading Home, Find Scent of ‘Mildew and Death’ |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| HOUSTON — Larry and Suzette Cade’s blue car had floated 20 feet or so. Ten massive logs that the couple had never seen before were scattered on one side of their lawn. There was no trace of the mailbox. | HOUSTON — Larry and Suzette Cade’s blue car had floated 20 feet or so. Ten massive logs that the couple had never seen before were scattered on one side of their lawn. There was no trace of the mailbox. |
| Thursday was the first glimpse the Cades had of their house since Hurricane Harvey battered and drenched the city. All around Houston, people have begun returning home. Some came in trucks, others in boats. Not everyone stayed; some searched for prized possessions or medications before heading back to shelters. Most simply could not bear to wait any longer to find out: How bad is it? | Thursday was the first glimpse the Cades had of their house since Hurricane Harvey battered and drenched the city. All around Houston, people have begun returning home. Some came in trucks, others in boats. Not everyone stayed; some searched for prized possessions or medications before heading back to shelters. Most simply could not bear to wait any longer to find out: How bad is it? |
| The Cades have owned their brick house in northwest Houston for a quarter century, yet on Thursday, it felt unfamiliar. | The Cades have owned their brick house in northwest Houston for a quarter century, yet on Thursday, it felt unfamiliar. |
| As Mr. Cade tried to pry open the swollen front door, Ms. Cade peeked through the window of the family room. Even through a film of dirt, she could see everything was upended. The water had reached well over five feet in the house. | As Mr. Cade tried to pry open the swollen front door, Ms. Cade peeked through the window of the family room. Even through a film of dirt, she could see everything was upended. The water had reached well over five feet in the house. |
| They stood at their front door holding hands — and crying. | They stood at their front door holding hands — and crying. |
| “I just feel so sad and empty,” Mr. Cade, 63, said, standing in the driveway on Thursday afternoon. | “I just feel so sad and empty,” Mr. Cade, 63, said, standing in the driveway on Thursday afternoon. |
| “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” Ms. Cade, 62, softly repeated as she again walked the perimeter of the house. “This is overwhelming. Everything is thrown everywhere.” | “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” Ms. Cade, 62, softly repeated as she again walked the perimeter of the house. “This is overwhelming. Everything is thrown everywhere.” |
| It was uncertain how many of this region’s residents have tried to return home since the storm, but Houston officials said the numbers in shelters were dropping. The George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston’s main shelter, was housing fewer than 8,000 evacuees by late Thursday, down from about 10,000. | It was uncertain how many of this region’s residents have tried to return home since the storm, but Houston officials said the numbers in shelters were dropping. The George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston’s main shelter, was housing fewer than 8,000 evacuees by late Thursday, down from about 10,000. |
| “I do want people to exercise caution if they are leaving the shelters and returning home,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said late Thursday, “or if they sought lodging someplace else and are returning home. They just need to be extra careful when they are returning.” | “I do want people to exercise caution if they are leaving the shelters and returning home,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said late Thursday, “or if they sought lodging someplace else and are returning home. They just need to be extra careful when they are returning.” |
| The process of going home had its own complications, given all that this city has been through. Local and state authorities issued an array of cautions: Do not eat anything that had come into contact with floodwaters; check for wildlife, including snakes; and visit homes in daylight. | |
| And they have been passing around advice for disinfecting soaked furniture: one cup of bleach to five gallons of water. | And they have been passing around advice for disinfecting soaked furniture: one cup of bleach to five gallons of water. |
| “It’s dirty water,” said Dr. David E. Persse, the public health authority for the City of Houston. | “It’s dirty water,” said Dr. David E. Persse, the public health authority for the City of Houston. |
| State Senator John Whitmire, who represents part of Houston, said residents were eager to see their homes. | State Senator John Whitmire, who represents part of Houston, said residents were eager to see their homes. |
| “Every human emotion ever found in a society is being experienced,” Mr. Whitmire said. “They realize how lucky they are to be alive, in many instances. You’ve got to have priorities: Their priority was one of survival and breathing. Now they want to get back to normal as much as possible.” | “Every human emotion ever found in a society is being experienced,” Mr. Whitmire said. “They realize how lucky they are to be alive, in many instances. You’ve got to have priorities: Their priority was one of survival and breathing. Now they want to get back to normal as much as possible.” |
| Some went home and moved back in. Others made calls to contractors and landlords, planning repairs. Still others carried out wedding photographs or clothes, then headed back to shelters or the homes of relatives for what may be months. In many cases, the homes are not livable. | Some went home and moved back in. Others made calls to contractors and landlords, planning repairs. Still others carried out wedding photographs or clothes, then headed back to shelters or the homes of relatives for what may be months. In many cases, the homes are not livable. |
| “We could only go in and get some clothing and food,” said Marisela Arevalo, 25, who returned to her house in northeast Houston, but only briefly. | “We could only go in and get some clothing and food,” said Marisela Arevalo, 25, who returned to her house in northeast Houston, but only briefly. |
| Standing on a flooded highway not far from her home, Ms. Arevalo said the water line in the house came up to her knees. | Standing on a flooded highway not far from her home, Ms. Arevalo said the water line in the house came up to her knees. |
| Tequoya Stewart-Miller, 30, saw her home for the first time since the flood on Thursday, rolling up to the peach-colored two-story house that she shares with her grandmother and other relatives in the Cypress Creek neighborhood, northwest of downtown. | Tequoya Stewart-Miller, 30, saw her home for the first time since the flood on Thursday, rolling up to the peach-colored two-story house that she shares with her grandmother and other relatives in the Cypress Creek neighborhood, northwest of downtown. |
| The water had inundated the first story. Her strongest memory of the visit, she said, was the smell of the place: “mildew and death.” | The water had inundated the first story. Her strongest memory of the visit, she said, was the smell of the place: “mildew and death.” |
| “It was devastating,” she said. “Just devastating.” | “It was devastating,” she said. “Just devastating.” |
| The house where the family gathered for Friday night card games and Sunday soul food dinners was so destroyed she dared not enter. | The house where the family gathered for Friday night card games and Sunday soul food dinners was so destroyed she dared not enter. |
| “We had the kids around, we didn’t want them to see,” she said. “That’s traumatizing, to see all they used to have.” | “We had the kids around, we didn’t want them to see,” she said. “That’s traumatizing, to see all they used to have.” |
| Back at Larry and Suzette Cade’s house, the couple found their backyard looking as though it had been turned upside down. | Back at Larry and Suzette Cade’s house, the couple found their backyard looking as though it had been turned upside down. |
| The flower pots Ms. Cade had collected over 15 years were smashed and scattered across the backyard. Others had vanished. The fence had fallen in a messy heap. The garage door, gone. Fish had found their way into the swimming pool. | The flower pots Ms. Cade had collected over 15 years were smashed and scattered across the backyard. Others had vanished. The fence had fallen in a messy heap. The garage door, gone. Fish had found their way into the swimming pool. |
| “Where’s our deck?” Mrs. Cade wondered aloud. | “Where’s our deck?” Mrs. Cade wondered aloud. |
| Mr. Cade whirled around and looked at a muddy patch of earth. | Mr. Cade whirled around and looked at a muddy patch of earth. |
| “Gone too,” he said, shoulders sinking. | “Gone too,” he said, shoulders sinking. |
| Before they left the house on Sunday afternoon to stay at a hotel with five of their 22 grandchildren, Mr. Cade placed a photo of his mother on the top of a seven-foot shelf. The photo, more than 50 years old, is so treasured that Mr. Cade can recall it with precise detail: he is a toddler wearing black shorts, suspenders and white, hard-bottom, high-top shoes; his mother wears a blue floral dress and holds his hand as they stand in Houston’s Fifth Ward. | Before they left the house on Sunday afternoon to stay at a hotel with five of their 22 grandchildren, Mr. Cade placed a photo of his mother on the top of a seven-foot shelf. The photo, more than 50 years old, is so treasured that Mr. Cade can recall it with precise detail: he is a toddler wearing black shorts, suspenders and white, hard-bottom, high-top shoes; his mother wears a blue floral dress and holds his hand as they stand in Houston’s Fifth Ward. |
| “As soon as I walked to the door this morning, I thought about my mom,” he said. “That photo,” he said, his voice thinned by tears. “I thought the shelf was high enough.” The jumble of furniture that the Cades could see through their windows left little hope. | “As soon as I walked to the door this morning, I thought about my mom,” he said. “That photo,” he said, his voice thinned by tears. “I thought the shelf was high enough.” The jumble of furniture that the Cades could see through their windows left little hope. |
| They said they had weathered storms before in this neighborhood northwest of downtown, Bammel Forest, but nothing like Harvey. | They said they had weathered storms before in this neighborhood northwest of downtown, Bammel Forest, but nothing like Harvey. |
| “I have seen the really bad stuff on television,” said Mr. Cade, whose family owns a transportation business. “But actually experience it? No. Never.” | “I have seen the really bad stuff on television,” said Mr. Cade, whose family owns a transportation business. “But actually experience it? No. Never.” |
| Now, the Cades have to face what’s inside. The door is still swollen shut. | Now, the Cades have to face what’s inside. The door is still swollen shut. |