Houston has high water rescue vehicles on standby in case of flooding

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - As Tropical Depression Imelda continues to make its way inward, Houstonians are keeping a close eye and getting any supplies they may need to hunker down, if necessary. 

Many said they were surprised by Tropical Storm Imelda (now Tropical Depression Imelda) and rushed to the stores Tuesday to pick up sandbags, tarp, batteries and generators. 

"This storm kind of caught me off guard and i didn't really hear about it until today at work, so yeah i'm filling up gas," said Andrew Koller. 

"I came outside today and I'm like, 'Oh my god, this tropical storm has a name. First of all, where did this tropical storm come from? It reminds me of Allison because the same thing happened with Allison-- it came up out of no where," said Janice Jucker. 

Jucker is the co-owner of Three Brother's Bakery in Meyerland. Jucker said her and her husband are no stranger to disaster. Their mom-and-pop business flooded during Allison, Ike, Memorial Day and Harvey. 

They've moved their delivery van to higher ground in preparation for this week, but Jucker said they really cannot afford to flood again. 

"We're just starting to recover from Harvey. However, we're not quite there yet. Just because you reopen and you repair and you get new tables and chairs and equipment, doesn't mean you're back. You need the customers to come in. Flooding again would be really inconvenient and frankly at some point, we just won't recover," said Jucker.

Marine group coordinator Beau Moreno said the Houston Fire Dept. has been working with other local and state officials to increase staffing and resources in the event of an emergency. 

"Pre-Harvey we only had one high water vehicle. Now we have nine high water vehicles. We have 19 boats, nine rescue boats and 10 jet skies that'll be able to be deployed wherever we may need them," Moreno said. 

Moreno said firefighters from across the state have been sent to the Houston area as backup. 

Moreno added that the bulk of their operations will utilize the high water rescue vehicles, which can withstand up to three feet of water.