Four days after Harvey first slammed into Texas, residents and visitors are wading through flood and rain water to seek whatever shelter they can find. Highways have turned into rivers. Hundreds of thousands of people are without power. Countless residents have lost their homes.
Those impacted by the hurricane turned tropical storm include East Coast natives who were vacationing in Texas or have relocated there permanently. As they continue to cope, they're now sharing their stories.
Rooftop Rescue
"The flooding happened so fast," said Mary Nendza, a New Jersey native living in Houston.
Nendza and her fiance, Kris Atkinson, knew they didn't have much time when their 9-foot ceiling home was overcome with 6 feet of water.
"It was an honest moment of 'if we don't do this, we will not make it,'" she said.
The couple fled outside and climbed to the roof with their dogs in tow. Nendza recalled "pure chaos" as they escaped the flood.
"I was either hysterical or completely numb. I was all over the place emotionally."
As the family ventured outside, winds calmed to allow enough time for Atkinson to find a ladder and escort the group to safety.
And then they waited.
Nendza and Atkinson watched as water claimed their entire house and everything inside of it.
"There were moments of grief, moments of pain, moments of clarity [and] moments of self-reflection," she said.
Family and friends kept in touch via text and social media. People offered support and whatever help they would give. Hours after their ordeal started, helicoptors whirled overhead and a basket was lowered to retrieve the family.
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"We'll be recovering emotionally for a while. I'm sure longer for me. It's a lot to take in. We are starting over. It could be fun and freeing. It will also be devastating," Nendza said.
A crowdfunding campaign has been created to aid in the couple's recovery efforts. Click here to donate.
Now What?
Recent Drexel University graduate Andrew Riebel and his fiancee moved to Texas on July 4th hoping for a fresh start. They landed jobs and found an apartment. It was a welcome change after tragedy struck Riebel's family several years ago. His brother died from a heroin overdose, and his parents became involved in protesting Johnnies Liquor, a Bellmawr store busted in 2016 for selling drugs.
Riebel didn't know what to expect when news of Harvey's potential began to trickle into their South Belt-Ellington area neighborhood. He weathered Superstorm Sandy in 2012, but Harvey already seemed like entirely different kind of beast even before it struck.
Riebel asked more experienced coworkers what to do. Some said the warnings were overblown, while others prepared for the end of the days.
"We landed in the middle," Riebel said. "We bought gallons of water, flashlights, food, battieries."
On Thursday, his fiancee spotted men punching each other over the last water bottles. The shelves were mostly empty, but what really shocked the young couple was the amount of unrelentless rain.
"Saturday, we only had a four to five hour [dry] window. Sunday was just one or two hours," he said.
During short walks around the neighborhood, Riebel spotted dead animals on the side of the road. They had drowned, he said. Cars floated along what used to be a highway.
He has heard reports of rattlesnakes and looting, but feels safe in his neighborhood.
"On the first day, you can watch a movie. But on day four and five, we're going a little crazy," he said.
All Packed With Nowhere To Go
South Philadelphia resident Amy Kurzban waited all year for her one vacation this summer. She would fly from Philadelphia through Houston and to a beach oasis on the small Caribbean island of Curacao, near Aruba.
Her plans did not include being stranded at a Best Western hotel near the Houston airport subsisting on eggs, wine and whatever she could grab from a nearby gas station.
“I made some friends last night,” Kurzban said via text message Monday morning. “We had some drinks, played cards and used the wifi while it was still working."
Kurzban called NBC10 earlier in the day, but her phone service became unreliable in the hours following her initial conversation. Several calls dropped or went straight to voicemail.
“People seem frustrated and aggravated,” she said. “There is nothing to be done."
Kurzban spent Monday driving through the area surrounding her hotel in a Best Western shuttle. She was accompanied by one driver and the owner of the hotel. A lone employee stayed behind to clean up water that poured into the lobby.
During her voyage outside, Kurzban saw a truck drive through a “pond” that collected in the hotel’s parking lot. She went to a nearby gas station for cash, snacks and beverages, but could only find two of the three.
“They were all out of cash,” she said.
About 50 guests were also marooned at Kurzban’s hotel. They had been moved up to the second and third floors as water poured in through the lobby and reception area. Power remained, but no one knew for how much longer.
Kurzban hoped to continue her journey to the Caribbean Tuesday morning. But just one hour after speaking with NBC10, the Houston airport declared it would close until Thursday.
“That’s not great news,” she said.
Update: Kurzban has been relocated to a different hotel after the Best Western experienced severe flooding. She is hoping to fly back to Philadelphia Friday.
[NATL] Dramatic Images: Floods Hit as Harvey Drenches Texas
Welcome to Texas
Matthew Ruggles recently moved to Bellaire, Texas, a small community within the greater Houston area. While his new home has remained above water, neighbors just one mile away are still waiting for water rescues.
But these water levels are rapidly fluctuating.
“Just this morning water receded and my street is completely dry,” he said. “Yesterday the water was more than knee deep.”
Ruggles saw trucks ferrying victims out of the worst-hit areas in his immediate vicinity, including from the Braeswood Place neighborhood that houses the badly flooded Brays Bayou. On Sunday, two kayakers were pictured attempting to cross an urban river with nothing more than one paddle.
When Ruggles took his dog outside for a quick walk, he could hear helicopters overhead. It wasn’t until later that the former Philadelphia resident realized they were airlifting Harvey victims from their rooftops and other flooded locations.
“All that being said, we’ve been very fortunate,” he said. “Water was up to our front steps, our driveway was totally covered.”
Beware of Rattlesnakes
"There are dead rattlesnakes everywhere," said Scranton native Martha Lawhon, who relocated to the coastal city of Corpus Christie in the last several years.
"And the live ones are freaking out. I'm scared one is going to crawl into my office."
Lawhon is a beach operations employee and has spent the last day helping to clear the shore from debris and other rubble. Her apartment is flooded - black mold has already taken hold on the first floor ceiling. Her new house, however, weathered the storm better. She had enough time to board up all the windows before Harvey struck Friday.
"I got a new dock box," she said, explaining that it floated up to her property from somewhere else.
Lawhon spent three days without power at her sister's home several miles away. They played board games, grilled food when the rain subsided and mostly just kept each other company.
"I have coworkers who have absolutely nothing left," she said choking back tears.
"I need to know that I'm really lucky. Everybody I know is not hurt. Everything can be replaced. I just feel so bad for these people."
This story will be updated throughout the week. Please check back for updates.
