Hurricane Harvey: Unprecedented Flooding Impacts Friendswood, Other Coastal Cities

FRIENDSWOOD, TX — Residents in the coastal city of Friendswood were hit especially hard by Saturday night’s unprecedented rainfall event, with neighbors seemingly caught by surprise by how quickly the floodwaters rose

Normally passable streets became raging rivers of water that reached depths of about 5 feet in some areas. (Want to get daily updates about Hurricane Harvey and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Pasadena Patch morning newsletter.)

Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 that was on the radar of meteorologist all over the Texas Gulf Coast, eventually made landfall in Rockport, and was lashing residents farther inland with heavy rain and wind as far away as Waller late Friday.

Harvey Still Expected To Cause More Damage

The first wave dropped 16 inches of rain overnight and caused some minimal street flooding in the Houston area.

But rain began to fall again in torrents on Saturday night, and into Sunday, forcing residents to flee into the early morning darkness.

Some got into their cars and drove, and some died.

One of those, a 52-year old man, found dead in his car in a Walmart parking lot in La Marque.

According to a KTRK report, the man could have been homeless and died of natural causes, or he could have drowned.

Some scrambled out of their homes on foot, hoping to flag down help.

One Friendswood man waded into chest-deep water to try and flag down a dump truck to help evacuate his wife and two sons still inside their home.

Officials in Friendswood and other cities south of Houston reached out to neighbors to help, and some responded.

Some came out with boats, came to help remove debris with chainsaws, and some brought fuel for boats and vehicles.

While many called 911 for help and found themselves waiting, some went to social media to sound the alarm.

Angie Langston Rodriguez, whose mother owns the Lavita Bella Assisted Living center in Dickinson, sent a plea for help and a photo that showed a group of women, calmly sitting in waist deep water waiting for someone to help.

Within a short time, rescuers arrived to take the elderly patients to a safe location.

Cutline: Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas

Image: Associated Press

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