Houston rabbi's home and synagogue flooded


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HOUSTON (AP) — Volunteers are helping clean up the United Orthodox Synagogue of Houston after floodwaters heavily damaged its sanctuary, chapel, library, offices, and Montessori School.

Rabbi Barry Gelman fled to the synagogue with his family when their home began flooding last Tuesday, but then the synagogue became flooded as well.

Gelman says the water was two-and-a-half feet deep in his home, so they lost most of their belongings. Flood waters in the synagogue were up to five feet deep.

Francisco Sanchez with the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says there are about 1,500 homes in Harris County, including those in Houston, with some level of flood damage.

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241-a-09-(Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator, United Orthodox Synagogue, in AP interview)-"in some areas"-Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator for the United Orthodox Synagogue, says the flood water was unstoppable. (1 Jun 2015)

<<CUT *241 (06/01/15)££ 00:09 "in some areas"

243-a-05-(Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator, United Orthodox Synagogue, in AP interview)-"of our books"-Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator for the United Orthodox Synagogue, says the sanctuary was flooded. (1 Jun 2015)

<<CUT *243 (06/01/15)££ 00:05 "of our books"

242-a-09-(Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator, United Orthodox Synagogue, in AP interview)-"was just underwater"-Jenelle Geller, flood coordinator for the United Orthodox Synagogue, says the damage is extensive. (1 Jun 2015)

<<CUT *242 (06/01/15)££ 00:09 "was just underwater"

244-a-11-(Rabbi Barry Gelman of the United Orthodox Synagogue, in AP interview)-"of our belongings"-Rabbi Barry Gelman of the United Orthodox Synagogue says his home was flooded. (1 Jun 2015)

<<CUT *244 (06/01/15)££ 00:11 "of our belongings"

245-a-09-(Rabbi Barry Gelman of the United Orthodox Synagogue, in AP interview)-"to better times"-Rabbi Barry Gelman of the United Orthodox Synagogue says the flood damaged his home as as well as his synagogue. (1 Jun 2015)

<<CUT *245 (06/01/15)££ 00:09 "to better times"

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