Friday people living in flooded neighborhoods in Houston were told to evacuate now. Mayor Sylvester Turner said people who stay risk the safety of first responders who may be called later to bring those hold outs to safety.
“There are people that are staying at every site and it’s ridiculous,” said Adrian Berg, who volunteered to help rescue animals from flooded homes in Houston’s Memorial area. “People need to get out and be safe.”
Friday afternoon, there was an urgency in a parking lot off Memorial Drive as volunteers tried to get boats out to people who needed to be rescued, and ferry other residents back to retrieve pets and belongings.
“We’re about to see the extent of the damage,” said Bryce Dixon as she and her family hopped on board a boat for a half mile trip to her sister’s flooded home. "I know when we left there was still a lot of people trapped in their homes.”
The Dixon sisters left Sunday morning when flood water from the Buffalo Bayou filled their downstairs. Friday afternoon they returned to see sofas floating like rafts in a swimming pool. The water in the kitchen was nearly counter height.
“It definitely makes you value what’s important,” homeowner Sydney Dixon said holding back tears. “I’m grateful. God is good through all this, but it’s hard to see.”
