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Hurricane Harvey, 5 years later: How Houston friends and neighbors responded in the face of tragedy
People from Houston and around the country offered assistance during Hurricane Harvey.
Glenda Montelongeo, Richard Martinez and his two sons are helped out of a boat after being rescued near Tidwell Road and Toll Road 8 in Houston, TX on Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017.
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty ImWhen Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017, in Houston, locals did not know that their world would be covered in water for weeks. The storm hovered over Harris County, dropping one trillion gallons of water over a four-day period. When the skies cleared, the final impact of Hurricane Harvey was 68 deaths and more than 204,000 homes damaged in Harris County.
In the midst of the rising waters, fear, uncertainty and loss, there was a bright light: how people came together to help one another.
“Look for the helpers,” is the wise advice that Mr. Roger’s mother gave him all those years ago. “When I was a boy and something bad happened in the news, my mother would tell me to ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”
Houston locals did not have to look far to find the “helpers.” Whether the helper was a neighbor who drove a monster truck through deep waters to rescue someone stranded or a stranger who traveled hundreds of miles to serve a warm dinner to the displaced—the helpers were everywhere during and after Hurricane Harvey.
While government agencies rescued more than 60,000 Harris County residents, civilian volunteers saved tens of thousands. Volunteers showed up at shelters to assist, with even more dropping off donations of clothing and other items for those who had lost so much.
The effects of Hurricane Harvey still linger, but the hope that a helping hand provided is still felt as well. Here are just a few examples of how people came together.
Barb Davis, 74. is helped to dry land after being rescued from her flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Shardea Harrison looks on at her three-week-old baby Sarai Harrison being held by Dean Mize as he and Jason Legnon used his airboat to rescue them from their home after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Andrew White (L) helps a neighbor down a street after rescuing her from her home in his boat in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Robert Anthony Torres rests in the warehouse of Gallery Furniture, which offered shelter to Hurricane Harvey evacuees August 31, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Shannon Danley carries a rabbit to a rescue boat after it was found floating in floodwater in an apartment complex on August 30, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Members of Jehovah’s Witnesses help a friend clean up their home after flood water inundated it, as the family begins the process of rebuilding after torrential rains caused widespread flooding during Hurricane Harvey on September 2, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Volunteer rescuer Matt Clarke searches for local residents after a mandatory evacuation was ordered in the area beneath the Barker Reservoir as water is released on August 31, 2017.
AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
Dennis Simmons and a group of Houston-area barbers volunteer to provide barber services to Hurricane Harvey flood evacuees at George R. Brown Convention Center Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Houston.
Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle
Volunteer Asuleni Santiago, 11, carries donated clothes for victims of the flooding from Hurricane Harvey at a shelter opened at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
LM Otero/Associated Press
A couple watches a video on their phone as they and other Hurricane Harvey evacuees settle in for the night while sheltering at the Calvary Community Church on September 5, 2017.
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im
Chris Ginter carried Mila Milo on his shoulders through floodwaters as she visits her parents flooded home on September 6, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Houston resident Chris Ginter took local residents to their flooded homes in his monster truck, which can drive through waters up to four feet deep.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
LaMarcus McCray and Allan Sommer (L-R) push a boat through a flooded neighborhood as they help bring items out of a friend’s home in an area where a mandatory evacuation was under effect on September 3, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Dominican Sisters of Mary Immaculate Province join a line of people waiting to volunteer at NRG Center, which opened its doors to a capacity of 10,000 evacuees on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017 in Houston.
Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle
Ken Jacobs the operations director at Bayou City Adventures carries five-year old Astrid Galperin from a rescue boat on Thursday, August 31, 2017. Andrew Brenneise organized a flotilla of private boats via Facebook to help rescue hundreds of people in his west Houston neighborhood. John Taggart for The Washington Post via Getty Images
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Volunteers set up additional cots for Hurricane Harvey evacuees at the NRG Center August 31, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
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Giles Debenport (R) with Lone Star Santas Charities talks with evacuees while passing out toys at the NRG Center evacuation center on September 3, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images