HOUSTON -- With more than 197,000 Texas households in the dark, getting the power turned back on after Hurricane Dolly won’t be an easy task.

In Cameron County, 91 percent of customers are without power.

In Willacy, that number is 97 percent. 

And in Hidalgo County – the most heavily-populated in the area – 61 percent are without power.

It is estimated it will be several days, if not more than a week, before power is restored to those customers.

That’s why 120 Centerpoint Energy linemen, tree trimmers and safety personnel left Houston for South Texas Thursday morning.

They're part of the Natural Assistance Mutual Group. It means that we head out when someone is in need and the same is done for us.

They expect to stay in South Texas for about one week.

It’s good overtime, but they say money isn’t he only reward. “When people’s lives are totally devastated and they come up to you and what to hug you and want to thank you and see if you need any water or anything. To me that’s better than a paycheck,” said Doug Raborn with CenterPoint Energy.

Meanwhile, the Houston Red Cross was already on the way on Wednesday. Volunteers loaded up emergency response trucks with supplies to take food and water to the disaster zones.

The Red Cross also planned to send trailers to the area to provide post-hurricane shelters.