North Texans send supplies to Louisiana flood victims

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With at least 13 people dead and more than 40,000 homes damaged by the historic flooding in Louisiana, one North Texas family is doing their part to help relatives and friends back in Louisiana.

Bret Savant lives in Flower Mound but his childhood roots are grounded in a small town in Louisiana. Most of it was destroyed by the flood.

So Savant, who’s a chef, packed up his cooking tools and a U-Haul and headed back home to help.

The Flower Mound resident is keeping a video diary of his journey back home to Denham Springs, Louisiana

Back in North Texas, Savant's brother-in-law is loading up his pick-up truck with relief supplies that didn't fit in the 26-foot U-Haul already en route to flood victims in Louisiana.

"The plan is to go into the major areas of the neighborhoods, open up the trucks and say, ‘Hey guys, whatever you need come and take whatever you want,’” Wickard explained.

The outpouring of support locally has been overwhelming.

Dr. Logan Spangler made his chiropractic office in Plano a drop-off site. Within 24 hours, donations by patients and strangers surpassed his expectations.

"We were running out of stuff for a while. We had stuff in storage rooms. I had stuff in my office, so I was treating and it looked like I had gone to Costco,” Spangler said. “It was just packed full. It was really neat to see that."

Now, most of those items are in the careful care of Savant. For him, it was important to hand deliver the supplies.

Among the victims of the flood was Savant’s own mother who, like so many others, lost everything in a matter of minutes.

"She was able to get into her house today. She had 6 feet of water in it,” Savant said. “So tomorrow we’ll have a team help demo her house, tear up carpet and start the rebuilding process.”

Savant says her mom has insurance and is physically okay.