J.J. Watt Starts Fundraiser for Hurricane Harvey Recovery, Donates $100,000

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt announced Sunday on Twitter he has set up a fundraiser to help victims of the flooding in Texas following Hurricane Harvey.

"I've set up a fundraiser so that we can raise as much money as possible to help our communities and the families of our great city rebuild," Watt said (h/t KVUE in Austin, Texas). "Any donation that you can spare, no matter how large or small, no matter what city or state you live in, is greatly appreciated. We will come out of this stronger than ever. We are Texans."

Watt, who has spent the last six seasons with the Texans after the team selected him with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2011 draft, said he donated $100,000 to start the fundraiser. On Monday he provided an update on Twitter about the amount of money raised:

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle later reported the total surpassed the $1 million mark, and a new goal of $1.5 million has been set. "I think that it's been an unbelievable display of what can happen when people come together," Watt said.

According to CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Ralph Ellis and Joe Sterling, the National Weather Service (NWS) said 24 inches of rain had hit parts of Houston in the span of 24 hours. To put that into perspective, Houston received 60.96 inches of rain in all of 2016, and 10.34 inches was the city's single-day record for rainfall, per the NWS.

NWS Houston tweeted residents can expect more rain in the coming days:

The Texans lost 13-0 on the road to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday in preseason action.

The team announced that players had flown from New Orleans to Dallas rather than travel to Houston, and a decision has not yet been made as to whether Harvey will impact Thursday's home game against the Dallas Cowboys.