Since Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast this weekend, thousands of Texans have evacuated the afflicted area.
Businesses and individuals alike have been ready to help out – from rescuing trapped families and Houston residents, to going out of their way to provide clean water and resources to storm shelters.
Whatever the case, here are 5 ways that the world is helping Houston in their time of need.
5. TV reporter helps rescue truck driver from rising floods
Brandi Smith of KHOU news is being hailed for her part in rescuing a stranded truck driver who had become trapped in the vehicle by rising flood waters.
When Smith first spotted the driver from a highway overpass, she voiced her concern over the man’s safety. She was unsure of what to do until she saw an oncoming car with a rescue boat in tow.
She then chased after the vehicle until she finally flagged it down and pointed out the stranded truck driver. The rescuers were able to float alongside the truck until they could pull the driver to safety.
4. Southwest airlines rescues hundreds of evacuees For free
Southwest Airlines transported 500 flood victims from the Houston Hobby Airport to Dallas on Sunday.
Hundreds of passengers had become stranded after the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) had closed the airport to non-emergency air traffic on Sunday morning.
After Southwest requested clearance from the FAA to fly, however, they were able to load up five Boeing 575s with hurricane evacuees – (Photo by BriYYZ, CC)
3. Anheuser-Busch stops canning beer to package water for storm victims instead
Beer company Anheuser-Busch has temporarily stopped brewing beer so they can send canned water to emergency storm shelters.
The company has already shipped over 50,000 cans of drinking water from their brewery in Cartersville, Georgia to Red Cross centers and evacuation points in Louisiana.
“Throughout the year, we periodically pause beer production at our Cartersville, Georgia brewery to produce emergency canned drinking water so we are ready to help out communities across the country in times of crisis. Putting our production and logistics strengths to work by providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations,” brewmaster Sarah Schilling said in a statement, according to FOX 5 News.
2. Social media helps rescue nursing home residents after photo goes viral
18 seniors were rescued from an assisted living facility in Dickinson, Texas after a photo of themselves sitting in waist-deep water went viral on Twitter.
The photo was originally sent to Timothy McIntosh by his mother-in-law Trudy Lampson. Lampson, who is the owner of the La Vita Bella nursing home in the photo, said that despite the rising floodwaters, they were still awaiting rescue.
Nursing home representatives had already been told not to evacuate since the facility had never been flooded. The photos, however, obviously proved otherwise.
McIntosh then published the photo on Twitter where it was reposted over 2,000 times.
Hours after the photo was published, the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management uses boats and helicopters to escort the residents to safety – many of whom were confined to wheelchairs or required oxygen tanks.
1. Airbnb allows users to house evacuees free of charge
Airbnb has changed their rules of service so that Texas users can offer up their place of residence to Hurricane Harvey evacuees for free.
This is not the first time that the company has offered free service – Airbnb also waived its service fees in 2015 for Hurricane Matthew evacuees; individuals affected by the Barcelona attacks; and refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war.
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