Hammered by Hurricane Harvey, Dickinson residents prepare for next storm
DICKINSON, Texas - When Hurricane Harvey's torrential rains hammered down, no community was arguably hit harder and deeper than Dickinson.
In a matter of hours, a full 85 percent of Dickinson's homes and businesses were inundated with water. Calls for rescue soon followed. Hundreds of them. Police Chief Ron Morales remembers clearly the outcries.
"People crying desperately for help. It was like someone had a gun to their head fixing to pull the trigger fear," said Morales.
And the calls kept coming.
"They are pleading with you please, please. It will rip your heart out."
CONTINUOUS HURRICANE HARVEY COVERAGE
Short on rescue crafts and surrounded by rising water, with no way in or out, Morales put out the call for help. What happened next, is the stuff of legends.
"They just came in boat after boat, after boat. To me, all the volunteers were the heroes. Everybody that volunteered and there was countless, countless people," said Morales.
Rescue personnel drive through an intersection covered with floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey in Dickinson, Texas, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. Estimates for damages caused by Hurricane Harvey are climbing with the storm poised to regain strength
Morales is referring to a flotilla of private boats manned by Texans and rescuers with the Cajun Navy.
"It's just an incredible spectacle of compassion, courage and folks just doing the right thing, getting people out of harms way to higher ground to a place where they can rebuild their lives," reported FOX 26's Greg Groogan who witnessed dozens of the rescues from his position on I-45.
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"What unfolded here was awesome," said Morales.
Incredibly, not a single Dickinson life was lost, beneath Harvey's deluge. And while five years after the storm, physical scars of the disaster remain, hard lessons have in fact been learned.
"Absolutely," said Morales. "We have come a long way."
As in the purchase of high-water vehicles and rescue boats. Haunted by the voices of the helpless, Chief Morales and community leaders are on a mission to recognize the shortcomings of the past and never repeat them.