Tales from the storm
A boy who tried to save a capsized kayak ended up stranded in raging floodwaters near Houston (right) — before rescuers reeled him in to cheers from onlookers.
The drama on Sunday was caught on video by Heidi Hall, who came across two boys trying to retrieve the kayak from the water in Lake Woodlands, a neighborhood 39 miles north of Houston.
“I couldn’t believe these two kids went after the kayak,” Hall said, according to Caters News. “The current was obviously really strong but they swam out anyway.
“One of them managed to get to the shore but this kid was stuck for about 20 minutes just holding on to the buoy line,” she continued. “All of the major rescue teams are downtown so this group didn’t have time to wait for a boat to appear.”
The youngster struggled to keep his head above the roaring rapids as he held on to a submerged buoy line. Rescuers finally managed to pull the boy out of the water and covered him in a blanket.
“He could have lost his life just for the sake of a kayak,” Hall said.
MORE than 350 alligators were on the verge of breaking free from a reptile park outside of Houston because of the rising waters.
“We’re less than a foot from [water] going over the fences,” and once it does, the penned-in beasts can float to freedom, said Gary Saurage, the owner of Gator Country in Beaumont, south of Houston.
“All of these are certified high fences, but when [the rain] won’t quit, it won’t quit,” he told KDFM-TV. “We’ve worked around the clock, and I don’t know what else to do. We’re truly tired. Everybody’s at the end of it, man. We don’t know what to do.”
Forecasters are expecting at least another foot of rain in the area by Thursday.
THE group of senior citizens who appeared in heartbreaking images chest-high in water in their nursing home in Texas over the weekend (right) are now dry and smiling.
The residents of La Bella Vita nursing home in Dickinson became a national symbol of then-Hurricane Harvey after a picture of them sitting in a flooded room went viral Sunday.
They have since been moved 20 miles away to the Laurel Court home in Alvin.
“We were able to provide these patients with hot showers, food, warm beds and a safe haven,” according to Laurel Court. “Each is now resting comfortably.” A friend in knead is a friend indeed! A team of Houston bakers trapped inside their shop for several days during the storm spent their confinement making sweet treats for other flood victims.
El Bolillo Bakery posted photos of the trays and trays of pan dulce pastries that its dough boys cooked up while 2 feet of water kept them trapped inside for two days.
“Hurricane Harvey pan dulce we are going to take to those in need. Bakers were stuck inside for two days!” the bakery wrote Monday. The owner spent the day delivering the provisions in an old Jeep on Monday before reopening the store Tuesday, El Bolillo wrote on Facebook. _