Two brothers who traveled to Houston to rescue victims of Hurricane Harvey said Thursday that it had been beautiful to see people come together to help those in need.
On Sunday, Jonathan and Joshua Evola drove 200 miles from their homes in Dallas to help Houstonians after seeing footage of the devastating flooding on television. Since then, they’ve helped rescue dozens from the floodwaters, which have raged since Harvey dropped 50 inches of rain on parts of Texas in just four days.
“It just didn’t feel right laying on the couch and watching Houston suffer,” Joshua Evola explained to CNN’s Erin Burnett on her show, “Out Front.”
Their first rescue came after they heard from friends that a family had been left behind in their home and couldn’t get out. The brothers immediately drove their boat to the house.
“It was eerie. It was dark. The water was almost black from the sewage. I can’t even believe we made it there,” said Evola, who captured the dramatic rescue on his cellphone.
What they found in the house was shocking.
“A gentleman just got through having surgery, he was laying in bed, the water inches away from his wounds, which could have gone septic. A little girl was sitting on the couch, probably 6 or 7 years old, sitting on the back of the couch, just shivering and scared to death and that broke my heart. I had to turn away a few times,” he told Burnett.
But thanks to the Evola brothers, who carried the family out of the house on their backs, everyone made it to safety.
Evola told Burnett that, despite witnessing so much suffering, he was moved by how much the community had united to help those in need.
“Everybody out there just completely stopped thinking about themselves for once, and started thinking about humanity, and safety, and love. It’s very touching. It’s very moving. It chokes me up,” he said.
“Even though it’s heartbreaking, it’s beautiful to see everybody come together,” he added.
