Houston, Texas has been plunged into darkness and chaos with the wrath of forces of nature on August 25, 2017. Tropical Storm Harvey was said to be the strongest hurricane that hit the south central state ever recorded. With its category 4 tropical storm and whooping wind speeds reaching up to 130 mph, the hurricane destroyed massive infrastructures and buildings in the vicinity in a snap. Thousands of houses and commercial establishments got flooded, sweeping away all their hard-earned money and properties like in a child’s play.
The strong, violent waves surged and came crashing to the coastal communities, eradicating people’s livestock. During the past few days, we’ve heard nothing but the horror stories and the disastrous aftermath of this catastrophic event. However, what we don’t know is that despite the horrors we’ve endured, heroism and unity still have risen above the chaos of Hurricane Harvey. Here are the inspiring heroic acts that will shed some hope and light in your heart to restore your faith in humanity.
“Calamity is the perfect glass wherein we truly see and know ourselves.” William Davenant
Dramatic Home Rescue
We all know how journalists and media personnel are putting their lives on the line by taking a reported coverage on the most trending news in the town. This includes covering calamities. However, a live TV report from Houston took a dramatic turn and twist when TV news reporter Brandi Smith rescued a truck driver stuck in flood waters. The KHOU 11 News reporter paused his live report just to alert two sheriff’s deputies driving past with a rescue boat to save the man’s life.
Incredible, watch as @BrandiKHOU flags down a rescue boat on-air, saving this truck driver's life https://t.co/EVvNbdt13k pic.twitter.com/3mYi9McniB
— Hayley Jones (@HayleyCJones) August 27, 2017
“There’s a truck driver stuck here in about 10 feet of water,” she told them before they came to his rescue.
These simple, heroic acts proved that media is not all about TV and glamour, with journalists willing to put their lives on the line to help save their countrymen too.
Communities Coming Together
Community saving a baby boy during the floods
Ever since Trump has been elected to The Presidency, we couldn’t deny the fact that America has been divided more than ever. His controversial decisions, laws, and bills passed about banning Iranians and other 8 regions from the Middle East to travel to the United States freely had spurred on controversial debates and protests all over the States. Some people feared that these bills passed will create a tension similar to those from the past – a war against the fair-haired people and blacks. However, it seems unity still prevails when humanity is tested by forces of nature. During these painful and horrific times, people seem to dismiss their differences and dispute and instead they helped each other to save their lives. This only shows that unity will always prevail if we only set our differences aside and respect each other in order to achieve a common good. The Good Samaritans in Texas have never been as united when communities go together to rescue each other.
“I’ve met more of my neighbours in the last 24 hours than I have in the last 20 years,” said Steve Hresko, a rescue efforts volunteer.
Emergency Water Productions
One of the scarce commodities we experienced during calamities is the access to safe tap water. Because the water pipes have been damaged during flood and the hurricane, it’s difficult for us to find safe and clean water to drink. It’s a good thing big American businesses such as Budweiser producers Anheuser-Busch halted their beer production in favor of producing clean water.
#AnheuserBusch halts beer production and sends water to #HurricaneHarvey victims.
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Great job @budweiser. pic.twitter.com/17sUsFEX5z— The Best Drink Ever (@FindTBDE) August 29, 2017
The company had delivered three truckloads (around 155,000 cans – of emergency drinking water) to help the communities affected by the hurricane and this goes to show that “business as usual” isn’t applicable to all businesses, especially when humanitarian aid is needed.
“Putting our production and logistics strengths to work by providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations,” said Bill Bradley, Anheuser-Busch’s Vice President for Community Affairs.
“The safety of our colleagues is paramount and we are proud of the work our Houston team has done over the weekend to keep our team safe in these difficult and exceptional circumstances.”
Exhausted Deputy
Of course, when it comes to calamities and emergency response team, we should never forget to give our gratitude to the authorities involved. We all know that we tend to be angry and frustrated by their slow rescue response time on some occasions, especially since around that time 911 reached their quota. However, we need to understand that these authorities are doing their utmost best not only to rescue US citizens but also tend to their needs, giving us as much comfort as possible. A notable example of this is a post that had gone viral indicating an exhausted deputy for working 12 hours straight just to help the flood victims!
Animal Rescue
Of course, we couldn’t forget how people had also taken the extra mile to rescue our beloved pet friends. In a dire situation like this, we tend to blackout and think of nothing but saving ourselves and our family members – sometimes forgetting the fact that our pets are family members too. But animal pet lovers took the risks of saving these pets and giving them a second chance in life. Never forget the fact that our pets are part of our precious life and family as well.
