Oxford Chabad House Helps Flood Victims

Oxford, England — As the floodwaters that have submerged low-lying areas of England recede, Rabbi Eli Brackman, co-director of the Oxford Chabad Society, and his wife Freida have been reaching out to students and the university’s surrounding community to help them get their lives back to normal.

In the past several days, the United Kingdom has witnessed historic flooding, with the Thames and Severn rivers overflowing their banks. Two were found dead in a rugby club in Tewkesbury yesterday; more than half of dozen towns along England’s waterways had neighborhoods underwater.

But by all accounts, Oxford proper got off relatively easy. Estimates before the Thames crested put evacuation figures at 500 homes. In the end, only 250 families were displaced.

Still, according to Brackman, running water has been shut off in many areas and hundreds of people remain, for the time being at least, homeless. One student, whose island neighborhood was threatened by rising waters, even took up residence at Brackman’s Chabad House.

“It’s not the crisis people think it is. It’s not New Orleans,” said Brackman. “But there are minor evacuations. We’ve been back and forth to the main evacuation center to see what we can do to help.”

On Thursday morning, a foundation donated a pallet of water to the Chabad House; Brackman distributed the 400 2-liter bottles throughout the day to evacuees. The rabbi encouraged anyone who knew of those who needed more urgent help to contact a 24-hour helpline he established.