Dancer’s Studio Guest Instructor Relates Hurricane Harvey Story

CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – On Friday, exploreClarion.com interviewed a Dancer’s Studio guest instructor who has family members in the Houston area who were affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Dance instructor and choreographer Cat Cogliandro was teaching at the Dancer’s Studio in Clarion last week.

Her parents’ home in Kingwood, Texas, sustained heavy water damage from the flooding.

“It was difficult to not be there, to be helping,” Cat told exploreClarion.com in an interview on Friday.

“Fortunately, no one in my family was there at the time, and no one was hurt.”

Cogliandro’s parents, Charles and Risa, both retired, were vacationing in the Denver area at the time. They hurried back to Texas to assess the damage.

“I was planning on meeting them in Denver, so those plans changed quickly. My brother Stephen drove in from Dallas with gas and supplies.”

“He asked me what I wanted saved, if possible, and I said if he could get the family photos, those were what really mattered to me.”

flood

The two-story home was flooded in the basement and first floor. Cat said her bedroom had six feet of water in it.

“It’s really sad. My brother said it smelled like the lake where we used to go camping when we were younger,” Cat said.

Cat’s dad has people in to see what needs to be done to repair the home.

Cat explained that many did not have flood insurance because the area was not considered to be a flood zone.

Another concern for the residents in the area is looters.

“It didn’t take long for looters to come around to the neighborhoods. My dad gave my brother a shotgun to help protect the house,” Cat said.

Cat’s students at Dancer’s Studio along with owner A-Jo Gallagher took up a collection to help the flood victims and raised $500.00.


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