Monster truck to the rescue
Storm Harvey victims get huge help from these machines.
PORT ARTHUR: Zub Ferrell’s passion is driving through the mud and muck of mega truck competitions. But this week he has embraced another mission: using his huge rig to save flood victims stranded after monster storm Harvey.
From his unusually high perch above the road, the 40-year-old crane operator drove his truck, named Old Habits, deep into Texas floodwaters on Friday – part of an extra-high-clearance four-wheel force that has descended on Port Arthur’s hard-hit neighbourhoods to shuttle hundreds of people to safety.
More cumbersome than boats but flexible because of their maneuverability through floodwaters and roadways, the mega trucks have formed an important division in the army of volunteers helping alongside emergency responders.
“You have people hugging you, we’ve had people try to pay us. We’re not taking any money,” Ferrell said.
The work has taken a toll on his custom-modified, 3.3m-tall truck: he estimated US$500 (RM2,133) in repairs since the floods started, and some 284 litres of gas.
“But the hugs and the kisses, and watching a grown man cry when you come save him – it’s all worth it,” Ferrell added.
Several mega trucks have joined the effort, including the Big Red Mud Truck from Fort Worth, Texas, which on Friday was rolling the same streets as Old Habits, and oth- ers from as far away as Illinois.
As Ferrell’s truck growled on, boat-based rescue personnel and residents glided by and gave a thumbs up, then exchanged vital information with him about where the most critical cases were.
“You okay?” Candace Sammons, one of Ferrell’s two search partners standing on the truck’s running boards, shouted out to a man in his front yard. The man asked for supplies, and Sammons pulled a case of bottled water off the roof to toss down to him.
Ferrell, whose arms are covered in elaborate tattoos, estimated that he had rescued more than 45 peo- ple, six dogs “and one very angry cat” in recent days.
From the cab of his vehicle, Ferrell towered over the devastation, driving past debris and pickup trucks almost completely submerged in water.
With the 175cm-tall tires churning, Ferrell guided his ride through the murky water, seeking out residents who, despite refusing to leave their homes for days, had finally broken down and agreed to be evacuated.
One by one they climbed out of the wet, scrambled up the huge tires and stepped into the cab, which began its life as a standard 1998 Chevrolet Suburban before the dramatic uplift.
“I was low on food, no water,” said a man, who identified himself as Charles, as he was helped aboard.
Fifteen minutes later he was reunited with his mother, who bent over with happiness at the site of the black Old Habits emerging from the water with Charles grinning in the front seat.
“Thank God!” the man’s mother screamed.
“No money,” Sammons said, waiving away the US$20 (RM85) bill Charles tried to give Ferrell. “Everybody’s in a bind just like you.” — AFP