For the last week, news out of Houston, Texas has been devastating. Not only are countless homes, buildings, schools, and churches flooded, many of them damaged beyond repair, but there is a human impact that goes much deeper than the outwardly visible damage that Hurricane Harvey has wrought. Through this tragic time though, there have been other stories as well, stories that can help each and every one of us feel good about humanity, and be proud to be part of a country where everyone can come together to help each other in their time of need. One such example is the rescue of Pam Jones and her parents from the town of Dickenson, Texas, a suburb of Houston, which was caught on tape by a CNN crew on board the rescue boat.
The CNN crew was riding along with a volunteer rescue worker named Austin Seth. Austin heard the call that emergency workers put out for volunteers with boats, so he took it upon himself to drive an hour from his Lake Jackson, Texas home, and scour the neighborhood of Bayou Chantilly. The CNN crew was along for the ride, and together the news crew and Austin had completed about six laps around the neighborhood before deciding to turn in. At the last moment though, before they had floated out of earshot, someone heard a cry for help.
That cry for help came from Pam Jones. Pam isn’t a native of Dickenson, Texas, but rather went there to be with her parents, from her own town of Friendswood, Texas. Her mother, JoAnn, is 83, and her father Elmore is 86, and Pam knew she had to be there with them to ride out the storm. What she didn’t know was just how much they would need her. They never expected the water to keep on rising, certainly never expected it to reach the house. As the rain kept falling though, without any sign of letting up, and the water entered the garage, and then the door, it became apparent that they needed to flee the bottom level.
So it was that when Austin Seth and the CNN crew found them, the family was completely trapped on the second story, with a full three feet of water filling the bottom half of their home. Austin waded through this water and one at a time pulled the family members from home, handing them off to the CNN crew, who helped them into the boat and reassured them of their safety. The family was transported to a near by drop off point where Pam was able to contact her sons, who picked them up and took them back to the safety of Friendswood.
Pam and her parents will be forever grateful for the CNN crew and the volunteer rescuer who found them but almost didn’t hear them. When CNN reporter Ed Lavandera told her that they were about to leave the neighborhood before they found her, she responded, “Thank God.”, with true gratitude for the kindness of strangers that day.
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Source: CNN
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