'Need Help ASAP': Nursing Home Residents Rescued From Flood Waters After Viral Photo
The photo of elderly flood victims seemed so outrageous that some people on social media thought it was fake
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The Texas State Guard and the National Guard were called in to help the victims of Harvey’s flooding in the Houston area over the weekend.
Seniors at a Texas nursing home were rescued Sunday after a dramatic image of elderly residents sitting in waist-deep floodwaters went viral.
The photo was taken inside La Vita Bella assisted living home in Dickinson located just southeast of Houston.
Kim McIntosh told NBC News her mother runs the facility. McIntosh, who lives in Florida, said she received the photo early Sunday from her mother, Trudy Lampson, after she inquired about their safety as Harvey continued to ravage Houston.
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People are rescued from a flooded neighborhood after it was flooded with remnants of Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
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A child is helped off the back of a rescue truck after his family evacuated their home after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
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Interstate 10 is closed due to floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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People wait to be bussed to a shelter after being evacuated from their homes by flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
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People wait for a ride to a shelter after being rescued from a flooded neighborhood when it was inundated with rain water, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days.
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Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Catherine Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston.
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Evacuees are helped to dry land after their homes were inundated with floods from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
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Texas Army National Guard members Sergio Esquivel, left, and Ernest Barmore, right, carry 81-year-old Ramona Bennett, center, after she was rescued from her Pine Forest Village neighborhood due to high water from Harvey on Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
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Highways around downtown Houston are empty as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey overflow from the bayous around the city Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with remnants of Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days.
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People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rain on parts of the city Aug. 27, 2017. The remnants of Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.
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HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 27: Volunteers and officers from the neiborhood security patrol help to rescue residents in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Airplanes sit at a flooded airport near the Addicks Reservoir as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
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People use an air mattress to float down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
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Ashley Ward kayaks down a flooded street that has been inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days.
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A preacher checks submerged cars for people inside on Sunday, August 27, 2017, in Houston.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Catherine Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.
U.S. Coast Guard
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Moses Juarez, left, and Anselmo Padilla wade through floodwaters from Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
A man waves for help as he is surrounded by floodwaters from Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
A boat is partially submerged in the wake of Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Jennifer Bryant looks over the debris from her family business destroyed by Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas.
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Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he said was the "most terrifying event in his life" when Harvey blew in and destroyed most of his home while he and his wife took shelter there on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Wind from Harvey batters a Texas flag on Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
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A destroyed laundrymat is seen after Harvey passed through on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Aaron Tobias who said he lost everything stands in what is left of his home after Harvey blew in and destroyed most of the house on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Boats are seen tossed around after Harvey passed through on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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An airplane is seen in a damaged hanger at the Aransas County Airport after Harvey passed through on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Jessica Campbell, left, hugs Jonathan Fitzgerald after riding out Harvey in an apartment on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Valerie Brown walks through a flooded area after leaving the apartment that she road out Harvey in on Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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A driver moves through flood waters Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
The roof of a gas station sits in flood waters in the wake of Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas.
NASA/NOAA GOES Project via Getty Images
In this NOAA handout image, NOAA's GOES East satellite capture of Hurricane Harvey shows the storm making landfall shortly after 10:00 p.m. CDT on August 25, 2017, on the mid-Texas coast.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Rain is blown past palm trees as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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Strong winds batter seaside houses before the approaching Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas on Aug. 25, 2017.
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Residents fill sand bags Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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A sign reading "Be Nice Harvey" was left behind on a boarded up business, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017, in Port Aransas, Texas.
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A sign on a business on Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Harvey, which made landfall late Friday as a Category 4 hurricane and has continued to drop heavy rain as a tropical storm, sent devastating floods pouring into Houston and surrounding towns on Sunday. The rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help, The Associated Press reported.
McIntosh’s husband, Timothy McIntosh, determined their best hope to get help to the nursing home would be to post the photo online. He tweeted the photo just before 10 a.m. ET Sunday, along with a desperate plea for help.
"La vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson Texas is almost underwater with nursing home patients," the first tweet read. "Need help asap emergency services please RETWEET," McIntosh wrote a few minutes later.
The now-viral photo showed at least six residents sitting waist-deep in murky floodwaters. One elderly woman, sitting in a large chair, knitted while water came up to her elbows.
The photo seemed so outrageous that some Twitter users questioned if it was fake. McIntosh fired back, noting his mother-in-law was among those trapped in need of help.
"What we need is help not doubters. This involves our own family. We are in Fl.," McIntosh wrote.
Galveston Office of Emergency Services spokeswoman Brittany Viegas confirmed to NBC News that 15 people were rescued from La Vita Bella nursing home on Sunday.
McIntosh thanked the Galveston OEM and the National Guard for their rescue efforts and "all the true believers that retweeted and got the news organizations involved. It pushed La Vita Bella to #1 on the priority list," he tweeted.
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