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From left: Thomas Wines (Captain, Calera Fire Department), Bill Cross (Paramedic/Captain, Bryan County EMS) and Nathan Price (Rescue Tech, Bryan County EMS) from Oklahoma had already made a number of water rescues in west Houston. Their vehicles, including an ambulance, were packed with 14 days-worth of supplies including diving gear.
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From left: Thomas Wines (Captain, Calera Fire Department), Bill Cross (Paramedic/Captain, Bryan County EMS) and Nathan Price (Rescue Tech, Bryan County EMS) from Oklahoma had already made a number of water rescues in west Houston. Their vehicles, including an ambulance, were packed with 14 days-worth of supplies including diving gear.
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From left: Rescue specialist Randy Brown and firefighters Matt McCombs and Brett Wright from Chickasha Fire Department southwest of Oklahoma City had just arrived. They were waiting to go out on their first call.
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From left: Rescue specialist Randy Brown and firefighters Matt McCombs and Brett Wright from Chickasha Fire Department southwest of Oklahoma City had just arrived. They were waiting to go out on their first call.
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Large airboats from across the country descended on Houston and gathered at Memorial City Mall just after Harvey’s rains finally came to an end.
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Large airboats from across the country descended on Houston and gathered at Memorial City Mall just after Harvey’s rains finally came to an end.
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This semitrailer was filled with supplies and equipment, from hoses and water to computers and first aid; enough for at least two weeks of fighting flood waters.
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This semitrailer was filled with supplies and equipment, from hoses and water to computers and first aid; enough for at least two weeks of fighting flood waters.
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Grant Wood, a firefighter, paramedic and medical specialist for the Urban Search and Rescue Group in Tulsa, normally battles tornadoes like the one that cut a seven-mile swath of destruction through Tulsa’s midtown in recent months. “My dad taught me to use the Farmer’s Almanac for weather,” he said. “It’s going to be a long winter.”
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Grant Wood, a firefighter, paramedic and medical specialist for the Urban Search and Rescue Group in Tulsa, normally battles tornadoes like the one that cut a seven-mile swath of destruction through Tulsa’s midtown in recent months. “My dad taught me to use the Farmer’s Almanac for weather,” he said. “It’s going to be a long winter.”
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Huge camouflage trucks parked along Interstate 10 in the Memorial City Mall parking lot, the staging area for many first responders.
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Huge camouflage trucks parked along Interstate 10 in the Memorial City Mall parking lot, the staging area for many first responders.
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A group of first responders from the Cherokee Nation Marshall Service in Oklahoma took a breather. They had already performed dozens of rescues over the last 48 hours.
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A group of first responders from the Cherokee Nation Marshall Service in Oklahoma took a breather. They had already performed dozens of rescues over the last 48 hours.
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A familiar sight: wetsuits and water shoes hung out to dry alongside all-terrain vehicles in the hot summer sun.
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A familiar sight: wetsuits and water shoes hung out to dry alongside all-terrain vehicles in the hot summer sun.
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Members of the Travis County Sheriff’s Department were preparing for yet another rescue mission in the waterlogged west Houston area.
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Members of the Travis County Sheriff’s Department were preparing for yet another rescue mission in the waterlogged west Houston area.
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From left: Gary Craven, Mike Black and Mark Evans arrived at 9:30 a.m. and spent much of the day barbecuing for first responders in the mall parking lot. Craven discovered a fellow Texas A&M alum on an Aggie message board wanting to help. “I’ve got a huge smoker and 200 pounds of meat in my truck,” the message said according to Craven. He and his buddies, who lived nearby, agreed to man the pit under the awning of a bank. Restaurants had been dropping off additional supplies all day long.
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From left: Gary Craven, Mike Black and Mark Evans arrived at 9:30 a.m. and spent much of the day barbecuing for first responders in the mall parking lot. Craven discovered a fellow Texas A&M alum on an Aggie message board wanting to help. “I’ve got a huge smoker and 200 pounds of meat in my truck,” the message said according to Craven. He and his buddies, who lived nearby, agreed to man the pit under the awning of a bank. Restaurants had been dropping off additional supplies all day long.
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Dozens of volunteers showed up looking to help as donations poured into the makeshift drop-off area in the mall parking lot.
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Dozens of volunteers showed up looking to help as donations poured into the makeshift drop-off area in the mall parking lot.
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Volunteers helped good Samaritans unload bags of clothing, baby supplies and palettes of water to put under nearby pop up tents.
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Volunteers helped good Samaritans unload bags of clothing, baby supplies and palettes of water to put under nearby pop up tents.
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Even the volunteers received meals of Mexican food and Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
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Even the volunteers received meals of Mexican food and Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
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Gerardo Gutierrez, an evangelist from Katy, set up a donation area when he heard first responders were gathering at Memorial City mall. It quickly grew to over a dozen pop up tents and filled with donations. “Everybody’s working with their hearts,” he said. Even though there were numerous languages spoken among volunteers, “we are speaking with one language: help.”
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Gerardo Gutierrez, an evangelist from Katy, set up a donation area when he heard first responders were gathering at Memorial City mall. It quickly grew to over a dozen pop up tents and filled with donations. “Everybody’s working with their hearts,” he said. Even though there were numerous languages spoken among volunteers, “we are speaking with one language: help.”
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Help came in many forms, both big and small.
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Help came in many forms, both big and small.
First responders came from all over Texas and Oklahoma to help rescue Memorial residents after floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey, and then the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, deluged the area, leaving it underwater for weeks after the storm hit. Above, a few of their stories.
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