How to find people who were rescued during Hurricane Harvey in Houston?

May 27, 2020 11:33 AM

For a research project, I'm trying to track down people who were rescued during Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017. Especially people who were saved by Coast Guard rescue divers--those folks who lower out of helicopters. I'm already in touch with the Coast Guard, but their records are surprisingly spotty. Any other avenues?
posted by gottabefunky to Society & Culture (6 answers total)

There was an episode of "Lone Star Law" devoted to this; perhaps the game wardens are another avenue.
posted by Melismata at 12:00 PM on May 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

Rice University's Harvey Memories Project might be able to help.

I will tell you though, as a resident of Houston who lived through Harvey, things were so chaotic during that time I doubt there are many records of who was rescued by whom and how. The reason I recommend the Rice project is you might be able to find first-hand accounts of those who were rescued.

You might also reach out to the Cajun Navy. They're a volunteer group, I have a gut feeling some rescuers and rescuees might have stayed in touch due to the sheer emotional and physical vastness of the event.
posted by Brittanie at 1:02 PM on May 27, 2020 [2 favorites]

I am not sure if you would be interested in word of mouth recommendations, but Lisa Eicher's family, which includes four kids, two of whom are adopted kids with Downs Syndrome and all kinds of misfit pets, were rescued from their house during Harvey by firecrews and she details a bit of their ordeal on her Instagram account. I am sure she would be interested in sharing her family's story because that's kind of her deal.

Start
Floodwaters rising
Rescued
Rescue story and video
Pet rescue

CNN Story
posted by urbanlenny at 1:04 PM on May 27, 2020 [1 favorite]

Would the helicopters have landed directly at hospitals? They might have a record of landings there.
posted by nickggully at 6:18 PM on May 27, 2020

If you MeMail a bit more detail about your project, I might be able to put you in touch with colleagues who were rescued (I think one was Coast Guard, the other I have no idea - she was rescued from the roof of her then-house).

I also second the recommendation for Rice's Harvey Memories Project. That's a group of people (myself included) who opted in to sharing their experiences, as opposed to being re-traumatized by being contacted out of the blue.

Sidenote: helicopters were not landing directly at hospitals as I recall. People weren't typically injured; they were typically stranded. Also, some of the hospitals were under water.
posted by librarylis at 9:47 AM on May 28, 2020

Sidenote: even if these organisations (especially the Coast Guard and hospitals) have this information they can't give it to you due to privacy legislation. Your best bet is to put together a summary of who you are, your project, who you're looking for, anticipated time commitment, and a way to contact you and try to get these places to circulate it for you. You'll have better luck with non-profits and FB groups, since they will be bound by less legislation (and be less busy) than the hospital.
posted by jrobin276 at 2:47 AM on May 29, 2020