Harvey myths
Social media was replete with rumors, yet some, like a cab-catching hawk and home-invading alligators, were true
It’s time to put to bed some of the more outrageous rumors Hurricane Harvey spawned a year ago, like the shark swimming on the freeway.
When Hurricane Harvey slammed into the South Texas coast on Aug. 25, it soaked the land with more than 50 inches of rain, killed more than 100 people and caused $125 billion worth of destruction. It brought something else in its deadly wake: myths and rumors that served no function other than scaring already stressed-out residents.
There were also incidents that might seem stranger than disaster fiction but were actually true. Here’s a rundown on five of these stories that probably took up far too much space on your socialmedia feed. Can you remember which ones turned out to be true or ended up being relegated to the status of urban myth?
1. Shark in the fast lane
When Fox News’ Jesse Watters, co-host of a show called “The Five,” tweeted a photo of what he said was a shark on the freeway in Houston, he wasn’t talking about some jerk cutting someone off while speeding at 80 miles per hour. He was referring to the real deal, an actual junior Jaws swimming along with traffic, and he had the picture to prove it.
But the image turned out to be a doctored photo that has been making the rounds online for years. Heck, this same shark apparently was in New York for Hurricane Sandy, too. Watters apologized the following day.
2. Hawk in a taxi, gator in the house
So, if a fish on the freeway is fishy, then a bird on the back seat of a car or a gator in the garage is equally suspect, right? Not always. A frightened Cooper’s hawk sought safety in the cab driven by William Bruso, who posted a video requesting assistance.
“How the hell does this happen?” he asked. “A hawk wants to seek refuge in your vehicle because of a hurricane coming. Is that normal?” Houston’s Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition ended up taking the hawk off Bruso’s hands and in turn contacted the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center in North Texas. The bird, appropriately named Harvey, was released in Plano’s Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve last September.
Meanwhile, alligators were turning up in people’s flooded homes because, well, such an occurrence is not just a Florida thing. Deputies in Harris County’s Precinct 4 were in for a sharp-toothed surprise when they got a call about an intruder at a home near Lake Houston.
Turns out the trespasser was a 6-foot gator looking for shelter.
In Humble, a man returned to his house to find that a 9-foot reptile had moved in. Snakes and fire ants also were displaced, making for potentially nasty interactions with two-legged Houstonians.
3. Where are your papers?
One of the more persistent rumors was that officials were demanding immigration papers of those requesting assistance at shelters or food banks.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner took to social media to swat them down in six languages. “The rumor that we are asking for immigration papers is FALSE! This rumor is NOT true!” he said. “We will NOT ask for immigrations status or papers from anyone at any shelter.”
4. Plague panic
No doubt Harvey’s floodwaters were filled with lots of things humans find disturbing and dis- gusting, so it’s understandable that there was a freakout when the claim surfaced that bubonic plague was dwelling among the debris and detritus. The Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management took to Twitter to squash the scare by reminding residents that plague is spread by ticks, rodents and other animals. On the other hand, such diseases as cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever and leptospirosis were far more worrisome threats and the effects of post-flooding mold is something many residents will be dealing with for some time.
5. Don’t drink the water
Speaking of water, many seemed to believe that the city of Houston’s water supply had been contaminated. Despite flooding at one of Houston’s water plants, the supply remained safe, though the city did request people “minimize water use during this time.” It was a different story in Beaumont, where the sources of drinking water were knocked off line, prompting the city to issue a statement saying, “At this time, there is no water supply.”