1 / 13 Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Connie Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
2 / 13 USNORTHCOM. Houston (United States), 27/08/2017.- A handout photo made available by the Texas Military Department shows Texas National Guard soldiers arriving to aid citizens in heavily flooded areas from the storms of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA, 27 August 2017 (issued 28 August 2017). The areas in and around Houston and south Texas are experiencing record floods after more than 24 inches of rain after Harvey made landfall in the south coast of Texas as a category 4 hurricane, the most powerful to affect the US since 2004. Harvey has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause heavy rain for several days. (Inundaciones, Estados Unidos) EFE/EPA/LT. ZACHARY WEST, 100TH MPAD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
3 / 13 Precinct 6 Deputy Constables Sgt. Paul Fernandez, from left, Sgt. Michael Tran and Sgt. Radha Patel rescue an elderly woman from rising water on North MacGregor Way, near Brays Bayou, after heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
4 / 13 USNORTHCOM. Houston (United States), 27/08/2017.- A handout photo made available by the US Coast Guard show service members assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Houston responding to search and rescue requests after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, Texas, 27 August 2017 (issued 28 August 2017. The Coast Guard is working closely with all local and state emergency operation centers and has established incident command posts to manage Coast Guard storm operations. The areas in and around Houston and south Texas are experiencing record floods after more than 24 inches of rain after Harvey made landfall in the south coast of Texas as a category 4 hurricane, the most powerful to affect the US since 2004. Harvey has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause heavy rain for several days. (Inundaciones, Estados Unidos) EFE/EPA/PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JOHANNA STRICKLAND / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
5 / 13 USNORTHCOM. Houston (United States), 27/08/2017.- A handout photo made available by the Texas Military Department shows Texas National Guard soldiers arriving to aid citizens in heavily flooded areas from the storms of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA, 27 August 2017 (issued 28 August 2017). The areas in and around Houston and south Texas are experiencing record floods after more than 24 inches of rain after Harvey made landfall in the south coast of Texas as a category 4 hurricane, the most powerful to affect the US since 2004. Harvey has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause heavy rain for several days. (Inundaciones, Estados Unidos) EFE/EPA/LT. ZACHARY WEST, 100TH MPAD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
6 / 13 Evacuees leave a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter after being rescued from flooding due to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, August 27, 2017. Picture taken August 27, 2017. U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 3rd Class Johanna Strickland/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
7 / 13 USNORTHCOM. Houston (United States), 27/08/2017.- A handout photo made available by the Texas Military Department shows Texas National Guard soldiers arriving to aid citizens in heavily flooded areas from the storms of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, USA, 27 August 2017 (issued 28 August 2017). The areas in and around Houston and south Texas are experiencing record floods after more than 24 inches of rain after Harvey made landfall in the south coast of Texas as a category 4 hurricane, the most powerful to affect the US since 2004. Harvey has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause heavy rain for several days. (Inundaciones, Estados Unidos) EFE/EPA/LT. ZACHARY WEST, 100TH MPAD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
8 / 13 Rescuers transfer Claude Young on a back board from a boat to a pickup point along Edgebrook Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The elderly man had many medical issues from a stroke in May. Rising floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground Sunday in Houston, overwhelming rescuers who fielded countless desperate calls for help. ( Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP)
9 / 13 People are rescued from a hotel by boat after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in Houston, Texas on August 27, 2017. Massive flooding unleashed by deadly monster storm Harvey left Houston -- the fourth-largest city in the United States -- increasingly isolated as its airports and highways shut down and residents fled homes waist-deep in water. / AFP / MARK RALSTON
10 / 13 A woman is carried after being rescued from a hotel by boat due to heavy flooding by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas on August 27, 2017. Massive flooding unleashed by deadly monster storm Harvey left Houston -- the fourth-largest city in the United States -- increasingly isolated as its airports and highways shut down and residents fled homes waist-deep in water. / AFP / MARK RALSTON
11 / 13 HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 27: Andrew White (L) helps a neighbor down a street after rescuing her from her home in his boat in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==
12 / 13 Evacuees Rickey Manuel (L) and Marjory Manuel (C) exit a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that rescued them after Hurricane Harvey inundated the Texas Gulf coast with rain and flooded their home, in Houston, Texas, U.S. August 27, 2017. REUTERS/Nick Oxford
13 / 13 USNORTHCOM. Houston (United States), 27/08/2017.- A handout photo made available by the US Coast Guard show service members assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Houston responding to search and rescue requests after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, Texas, 27 August 2017 (issued 28 August 2017. The Coast Guard is working closely with all local and state emergency operation centers and has established incident command posts to manage Coast Guard storm operations. The areas in and around Houston and south Texas are experiencing record floods after more than 24 inches of rain after Harvey made landfall in the south coast of Texas as a category 4 hurricane, the most powerful to affect the US since 2004. Harvey has weakened and been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to cause heavy rain for several days. (Inundaciones, Estados Unidos) EFE/EPA/PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS JOHANNA STRICKLAND / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
Bryan Curtis normalmente monta su jet ski por diversión. Pero el domingo, lo convirtió en un vehículo de rescate.
Curtis, quien vive en Conroe, al norte de Houston, fue uno de los muchos texanos que se sumaron para ayudar en la evacuación de aquellos que quedaron atrapados en las zonas inundadas de la principal ciudad de Texas, azotada por la tormenta Harvey.
"A decir verdad, no estoy pensando en mí en este momento. Es que la gente necesita ayuda, estoy aquí para ayudar, quiero hacer mi parte", dijo a la AFP.
Con los servicios oficiales de emergencia desbordados por el nivel del desastre en Houston, la cuarta ciudad más grande de Estados Unidos, la tarea del día por momentos quedó en manos de un ejército de voluntarios.
Algunos formaron cadenas humanas mientras otros recurrieron a sus botes a motor para llevar a los inundados a zonas seguras.
Tras la caída de más de 600 mm de lluvia en 24 horas, algunas calles de Houston lucían como canales, haciendo imposible la circulación de coches.
Algunos de los escasos vehículos que podían verse en las calles eran grandes camiones cargados con evacuados, que se montaron agradecidos ante la oferta de ayuda.
"Continuamente pasamos por estos vecindarios y actualmente recurrimos a altavoces para captar la atención de las personas: "¿Hey, están listos para evacuar?", dijo el oficial policial local Alan Rosen.
"Estamos desbordados. No hay suficientes recursos, nunca hay suficientes recursos, para recorrer todo y salvar a todos", dijo Rosen al canal de TV local KTRK, tras cargar uno de los vehículos de rescate con decenas de evacuados.
"Estamos haciendo absolutamente todo lo que podemos", agregó.
Oficiales de una patrulla de policía detectaron el sábado en la noche a un hombre aferrado a un árbol, por lo que formaron una cadena humana a través de un pantano para rescatarlo.
— Viaje en bote —
Con tantas calles anegadas, los botes son la única opción para algunos de quienes se encuentra varados en las zonas periféricas.
James Lofton, residente en el suburbio de Spring Valley, realizó múltiples viajes con su bote para trasladar a personas atrapadas en un hotel a zonas seguras.
"Hemos estado yendo y viniendo para sacar a la gente del (hotel) Omni durante buena parte de la tarde", dijo Lofton a la AFP.
Una de las últimas personas en dejar el hotel fue una mujer que recientemente fue sometida a una operación de espalda y que fue cargada al bote con mucha delicadeza.
"Obviamente tuvo una cirugía y tiene mucho dolor. Este es un viaje muy doloroso para ella", señaló Lofton.
Curtis dijo que él y un amigo habían contactado a la agencia de gestión de emergencias para ofrecer sus servicios con el jet ski.
"Estamos esperando su llamado para ver dónde nos necesitan", dijo.
Algunos de los operativos más dramáticos se realizaron con helicópteros, que desde el aire rescataron a personas que estaban atrapadas en los pisos superiores de sus viviendas.
El canal de TV ABC 13 de Houston mostró imágenes de un padre con su hijo de seis años, ambos llamados Jeremiah, cada uno con un bolso a la espalda, montándose a una canasta que colgaba desde un helicóptero desde un segundo piso.
"Esto es todo lo que tenemos", dijo el padre. "Gracias a Dios. Gracias a Dios".
Fuente: AFP