Government officials in Houston are asking volunteers with lifted trucks to help in rescue efforts. See video below of this Good Samaritan tow.Government officials in Houston are asking people with lifted trucks to help in rescue efforts during historic flooding in Houston; however, not everyone believes using trucks to rescue stranded residents is such a good idea.
Pictures and videos of trucks and boats can be viewed on social media traveling through flooded Houston streets rescuing residents trapped by floodwaters that continue to rise. Forecasters on Sunday said the city could receive another 20 to 25 inches of rain this week. Some weather experts are calling the intense flooding a catastrophic 500 year event.
On Sunday, the National Weather Service Tweeted: “This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety.”
Houston continues to be overwhelmed with 911 calls. On Sunday, video posted on Twitter showed a Houston city dump truck driving down a flooded street with people riding in the back on the way to a shelter (see below).
More Twitter posts continue to emerge asking people with large vehicles to help in the city, that includes government officials in Houston. During a press conference on Sunday, Harris County Judge Ed Emmet asked for anyone with high-water vehicles to help evacuate residents trapped in their homes and get them to high ground, according to khou.com.
“We are asking the public to help,” Emmet said. “We need you to help.”
Volunteers with high-water vehicles or boats are asked to call the Harris County Fire Marshall at 713-881-3100. Emmet and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner have come under fire for not ordering a mandatory evacuation.
Not everyone is happy with the idea of trucks traveling on flooded streets. Twitter user Abby Balli received 202 likes as of Sunday evening for the following Tweet: “Stop driving ur big stupid trucks in the flooded water. It pushes the water closer to the front of people’s houses and can bring more inside.”
Flood waters are deceptive and some trucks have stalled on streets where drivers have underestimated the depth of the water. Video below shows a truck driver being rescued from his rig after it stalled on a flooded Houston street.
Officials ask for residents to volunteer their high-water vehicles: 'We need you to help'https://t.co/qnyyFS1kxy pic.twitter.com/O9WqRPHa3D
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) August 27, 2017
City o houston trucks taking people to a shelter @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/MqCVn7b57C
— Alain Cisneros (@ACisneros98) August 27, 2017
STOP DRIVING UR BIG STUPID TRUCKS IN THE FLOODED WATER!! IT PUSHES THE WATER CLOSER TO THE FRONT OF PEOPLES HOUSES & CAN BRING MORE INSIDE!!
— Abby Balli ???????????? (@_abbyballi) August 27, 2017
Guys with big lifted trucks,this is yalls time to shine. Go out & save peoples lives since yall like bragging about yalls truck so much????????♀️
— Jonathan Bautista (@JohnBautista23) August 27, 2017
.. Monster truck to the rescue! Only in Texas. Super sized pickup pulled the box truck out of flooded frontage road #khou11 pic.twitter.com/9UwJqRubRA
— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) August 8, 2017
MONSTER TRUCK RESCUE: About to load up to rescue some people. #HurricaneHarvey @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/IZrSm7uwue
— Foti Kallergis (@FotiABC13) August 27, 2017
