HOUSTON – This weekend marks one year since Hurricane Harvey arrived to the Houston area and changed so many people’s lives.
Between pictures, videos and social media posts, Hurricane Harvey was digitally documented by the masses, and Rice University wants to preserve those memories.
Days after the storm, eight collaborators at Rice knew they needed to come up with a platform to help keep all those digital reminders, which is why they came up with the Harvey Memories Project.
“It’s a digital memory bank that’s designed to collect share and preserve people’s memories of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath,” explained Caleb McDaniel, an associate professor of history at Rice. “I think future historians will look back on Hurricane Harvey not just as a historic natural disaster, but probably as one of the most digitally documented in our history.”
McDaniel said the project is inspired by the Hurricane Digital Memory Bank from Katrina and Rita, where people have shared thousands of digital memories.
In the Harvey Memories Project, they want people to share their memories, no matter how big or how small, to make sure they have a record of different people’s perspectives.
“We think it’s important first of all to aid in the healing process for people to be able to tell their stories,” explained Lisa Spiro, executive director of digital scholarship services for Rice University’s Fondren Library. “We also want to reflect the diversity of the experiences around the city. We believe that the Harvey Memories Project will be an important resource for research and teaching.”
To submit your stories, images and audiovisual recordings, click here.
This Sunday, Aug. 26, there will be a Harvey storytelling concert from 6 to 8 p.m. at Tom Bass Regional Park, Section III where people can tell their stories for the project. It’s located at 15108 Cullen Blvd.