In the Path of a Hurricane
Katy, Texas, calls itself “the city of churches,” but don’t take the name too literally. The faith of the 18,000 residents of this former farm town extends far beyond the walls of its 100-plus houses of worship.
When Hurricane Harvey dumped five feet of rain on southeast Texas in August 2017, Katy, about 30 miles due west of Houston, took a direct hit. Nearly 700 homes and 80 businesses were damaged or destroyed. Two of the town’s beloved citizens, the Reverend Donald Rogers and his wife, Rochelle Rogers, died as they braved the floods to check on Donald’s uncle, who lived nearby on Rogers Road. The road was named after Donald’s grandfather. Like the Rogerses, many Katy residents didn’t wait for the rain to stop before running, driving, and paddling to rescue their neighbors. “Good old boys in pickups,” as one rescuer called them, plowed through roads turned into rivers looking for stranded families. When the water was too deep, salvation came by boat. Pat Lester drove his airboat into town from his home on the outskirts. He had seven life jackets, so he scooped up seven people at a time, starting with pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone who was ill.
Other boats came straight out of a nearby Bass Pro Shop. The store donated all 80 boats it had in stock—and then headquarters sent dozens more. “We never even got a bill,” says city administrator Byron Hebert.
A 50,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s rest stop, just built on a new highway interchange outside Katy, was stocked with food, water, toiletries, and road trip staples such as batteries and Band-aids. The mega–convenience store hadn’t even had its grand opening yet, but owner Beaver Aplin put out the word to rescue workers: Come and get whatever you need, no charge.
“I’ve never seen anything like Katy,” David Scherff, who hauled his boat from San Antonio, told Katy Magazine. “We helped people in lots of other areas, too, but Katy was amazing.”
Other locals found creative ways to pitch in. Shakeib Mashhood used Whatsapp to raise an army of more than 100 volunteers who passed out food and water and cleaned up stormdamaged homes. Animal control officer David Brown tied a lifeline from his truck to the city’s animal shelter, which was surrounded by high water, for people to hold on to as they shuttled back and forth to save the stranded animals.
The mayor, Chuck Brawner, says that’s simply the spirit of their town. “I think we just did what Katy has always done,” he says. “We all got together and helped each other out. There are so many great stories coming out of what was a terrible situation, but I’m not surprised. Katy has always been populated by people who care about one another.”