Kind gestures abound in Houston
Locals’ response to devastating storm surprises rescue experts
HOUSTON — After riding out Hurricane Harvey in a motel and waiting a week for the waist-high waters to recede, 71-year-old Bob Janak returned to his wrecked home for the first time to find it swarming with people.
They weren’t thieves or looters. They were volunteers who took it upon themselves to clean out the modest ranch house in outlying Magnolia, pushing wheelbarrows of sodden carpet and drywall and spreading armfuls of salvageable belongings on his front lawn.
“I tried to help out, but it was pretty obvious I was just getting in the way,” Janak said with a laugh. “They are amazing, I tell you. I’m so touched.”
For many people in the Houston area, the real takeaway from Har- vey has not been misery, but kindness. The crime and opportunism that often follows big storms has been a notable non-factor, at least for now.
Rescue crews from other statessaytheaftermathof Harvey has been marked by more friendliness than they’ve ever seen.
“This is the face of Houston, people who are giving in spirit,” said Bill Baldwin, a real estate agent who started the Harvey Relief Hub, a onestop place that dispatches volunteers to assignments and provides storm victims with everything from shampoo to dry shoes.
The generosity takes many forms: Neighbors wading through the floodwaters with elderly residents in their arms. Armadas of weekend boaters going door to door to rescue strangers of every race. Impromptu barbecue feasts for weary refugees.
There have been scattered problems. Houston police say they have made 18 arrests for looting. Outside the city limits in Harris County, that number is about 100, which District Attorney Kim Ogg said is incredibly low for an area of nearly 5 million people.
“This speaks to the way Houstonians work and come together,” Ogg said. “It’s been a hallmark of our region.”
Houston native Andrew White was still grieving the Aug. 4 death of his father, former Texas Gov. Mark White, when the storm hit. But he didn’t hesitate to use his 16-foot fishing boat to help rescue people.
“I’m not a hero. I just have a boat,” White said. “That’s what happened all over Houston.”