Beryl sends tree crashing through woman's Aldine home: 'I knew that pine tree had come down'

ALDINE, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman in her 70s is grateful she was not in her bathroom when a massive tree crushed it Monday morning.

Elise Daulley lives alone and was in her home's sitting room about 8:30 a.m. when she heard a crash.

"I knew that that pine tree had come down when I heard that," Daulley said.

She said she was in a state of shock. Her neighbor had just texted her asking if she was OK, so she quickly picked up the phone and called him.

"I'll tell you, that is something to find a - tree in your house," Daulley said. "It's unbelievable."

The tree crushed a bathroom between two bedrooms and damaged the roof in the foyer of her home. In total, she lost three trees during the storm.

On Wednesday, she sat under one of her surviving trees in the shade and watched crews cut the pine tree into pieces to haul away.

Daulley remains in good spirits and is staying with a neighbor while she figures out her next move.

Down the road, Connie Esparza, an Aldine ISD trustee, and her husband sit in their home without power.

She said it feels like the community is always responding to weather events rather than being prepared. Esparza said it then turns into a crisis when it does not need to be.

She hopes that a better plan will be created in the future that loops in all elected officials at varying degrees so they can provide answers to community members when they are asked.

Esparza said people have reached out to her asking a number of questions, including when limbs will be picked up.

"If I knew, because I had a plan from the county as to what my role was at the bottom for the residents, I could tell them, and they would know what to do, and everybody knows our ducks are all in a row," Esparza explained. "Then you know higher up everyone knows what to do. The plan will only work as far as it's planned out, and then it's got to be implemented, but I feel that we don't have one. I feel that we don't. If we do, I don't know a thing about it. So I'm always having to say to my residents, 'I'll let you know,' but we shouldn't have to find out."

Esparza is frustrated with the lack of resources for the Aldine community. She mentioned the lack of a cooling center.

A spokeswoman for Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia's office said they are having trouble opening them because of a lack of power at community centers, but they are working on getting generators. She said the nearest ones to Aldine are the Hardy Community Center at 11901 West Hardy Road and the Magnum-Howell Community Center on Doss Park Road.

A number of Harris County libraries are also serving as cooling centers.

A mobile connectivity center is located outside the Almendarez Community Center. It can charge devices and access WiFi. The center will remain open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day until further notice.

Commissioner Garcia, State Rep. Armando Walle, and the Houston Food Bank are joining forces to hold a food, water, and ice distribution at the Almendarez Community Center on Thursday from noon until supplies run out.

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