Hurricane Harvey, 800 Year Flood & Expecting

Hurricane Harvey was one of our country’s most destructive hurricanes to make land fall since
Wilma in 2005. The trajectory wasn’t certain with all the hurricane models coming in but one thing was certain, it was going to hit Texas borders, it was just a matter of where.
Everyone that knows my family understands we’re from the Midwest. We’ve never been through a hurricane and are fortunate enough to not have experienced one until Harvey. Every year before hurricane season we would get pamphlets in the mail and our local news would broadcast the importance on why you should be hurricane ready for hurricane season. But to be honest, I don’t think anything could have prepared us for what we were about to go through once Harvey made landfall.
It was Thursday, August 17th when the news first reported there was a disturbance in the Atlantic. At first it was a tropical depression but it was reported that it would more than likely become a Hurricane in a matter of hours. At the time I was almost 40 weeks pregnant about to give birth to our third child. I was looking forward to welcoming our little one to the world and to be done being pregnant. My due date was Monday, August 21st only several days away. I thought surely, I would have my baby before the storm hit but as fate would have it, we were in for a ride.
My due date came and went and I felt fine, no contractions, still only dilated to a 2 and 30% effaced. As disappointing as it was, there was nothing I could do. By this time the Hurricane had entered the Gulf and was upgraded to a Category 2 and predicted to become a 3 or 4 before landfall. The storm was set to hit Rockport, TX south of Galveston the coming weekend. Our local weatherman said we would see some rain and winds but not feel the direct impact of the storm. That gave me some relief knowing if I went into labor all will be fine and we could make it to the hospital.
My husband and I both went to the store to get some supplies and get ready for our first hurricane. We were a little excited about experiencing our first real storm since living near the gulf. We pulled up to the store and it wasn’t busy as you would expect it to be. We weren’t sure what to get, so we picked up the basics, snacks, a few cases of water, milk, bread and eggs. While checking out we started conversating with the cashier who was young man, college age more than likely and he asked us why we had so much water? We told him there’s a hurricane in the gulf that is set to hit south of us this weekend. He had no idea but didn’t seem too concerned, he smirked a little and said I wouldn’t be too worried, when Ike hit, they only experienced heavy winds and a little rain. His biggest complaint was the store would be busier than normal due to everyone gathering up supplies. We thanked him and headed home. The next day Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to a category 4. The direction didn’t change, but the size of the storm did which caused a little more concern. It was now being reported the front carrying the storm was slow moving and that our area would see more rainfall then first predicted. Now, all of Houston’s school districts cancelled school and most business decided to close to prepare for the storm. Hurricane Harvey hit landfall on Friday, August 23rd. That morning and afternoon weren’t terrible, it rained on an off, a few gusts of wind but nothing serious. Kids loved being out of school and just bummed around the house waiting for the storm to pass. Friday night rolled around and that’s when everything changed.
We went to bed Friday night with a heavy downpour, but nothing too serious just thinking it will calm down over the next few hours. Around 2 a.m. I was woken up by a loud bang of lightening that shook our entire house. I sat right up and it looked almost as if it were daytime. It was the scariest lightning storm I’ve ever experienced. The lightening was so close and loud as if the lighting was hitting our house each time. I remember looking out my bedroom blinds and screaming almost immediately with what felt like lightning struck right in front of me. My husband popped up from bed and asked me what was wrong, I told him and he fell back asleep with no concern. It was still raining heavily and thought I should go and check the front part of the house. I walked over to my husband’s office windows and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Our street was completely flooded with water half way up our yard and the rain was still coming, I panicked! I ran and got my husband and told him what was going on. He came to the front of the house and we both watched in disbelief. Across the street our neighbor’s parent’s vehicle was parked in the street that had water to its doors this helped us gage how high the water was. Suddenly, their car alarm started going off, knowing the water was now in the electrical system, that car was officially taken by the storm.
What seemed like forever the storm finally let up for a few minutes. All at the same time every neighbor came out of their houses to assess what was going on and how bad everything was. Lightning was still flashing all around us, but we didn’t care, we wanted to see for our own eyes what had happened in the short time since the real down pour started. We took some pictures, yelled across the way to each other making sure everyone was ok and then rain started again.

It continued to rain all through the night into the morning. We were very fortunate that night and our home was spared from the floods. Many neighborhoods and friends were not so lucky. And sadly, this was just the first of many days we would have heavy down pours, it just didn’t seem real.
That morning my husband and daughter walked our neighborhood to see how everyone else faired and by this time the water was starting to recede. The pictures he sent me were shocking. All roads were flooded, our neighborhood lake was over the side walk nearing the back of homes. Never would’ve of thought it would get this bad.
Behind our home is our kids Junior High school, the city quickly transformed it into a shelter for flood victims. All day and night we would hear fan boats and helicopters coming and going dropping families off and heading back out to rescue other families. The news was on 24/7 showing the devastation that our city was experiencing and I just felt helpless. My husband and daughter took most of our supplies up to the shelter to help the many families that lost everything, they needed it more than we did. We lost nothing, and most of these families had to leave their homes with just the clothes on their backs. They spent a good portion of the day at the school helping distribute supplies and to lend a helping hand where it was needed. The stories they came home with were heartbreaking.
Sunday evening came and it felt like deja vue all over again. Another round with just as much rain, but with the grounds already saturated the water had nowhere to go. My family and I were frantically stacking furniture and moving items to our second level to avoid damage. Imagine a 40+ week pregnant woman frantically picking up baby furniture to avoid the potential of flood water getting into the newly finished baby room, it was truly awful. We did all we could to ensure we could salvage as much furniture and personal belongings in case we took on water. Thankfully we were spared once more. Now looking back, I thanked God for giving me more time before having my little girl. I couldn’t imagine having a newborn and dealing with the storm and all the uncertainties. Finally, the rain stopped and the water start to recede again giving my family hope once more. Everyone was glued to the T.V. watching the videos and pictures come across the screen. Two exits from us everything was under water. My heart broke for these families losing everything and waiting for rescues.
The water was finally off our street and we quickly realized we were running low. Not sure how the next few days would be he needed to restock. My husband did some checking and found that our local HEB was open and we knew word would get around fast. We ventured out in my husband’s truck driving slowly through the flooded streets. We made it to the store and my husband dropped me off in front to get in the line that was growing fast. They were letting in 10 families at a time to avoid chaos inside the store. As I stood in line, I found myself in a daze, seeing everyone’s faces, the lost look in their eyes, some people were arguing other’s crying it was truly a moment I’ll never forget. I remember standing there telling myself, don’t cry you’ve been strong this entire time, you’re fine. It truly felt like we were living in a different world. Finally, it was my turn to go in the store, and it was crazy. People rushing down the aisles trying to get what they could before someone else, or before another round of storms hit or; to avoid waiting in line to check out because those lines were building fast too. We gathered what we needed and headed home. On our way home a fire truck along with a truck pulling a boat went speeding down the road heading the opposite way from us and I just froze. That is when I lost it, letting everything finally sink in what we’ve been through and not sure of the unknown and knowing there is more rain to come I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I just cried. Knowing where those trucks were headed and what they’re going to do I broke and cried all the way home. Monday evening, we had a few small showers but most of the storm was finally moving out.
During Hurricane Harvey Houston received over 60+ inches of rain and taking 88 lives. The Storm has been called the 800-year flood one I pray to never experience again. The devastation our city experienced was immeasurable and be something we’ll never forget.
I went into labor at the tail end of the storm. We welcome our precious angel Everleigh Kay Daughenbaugh Tuesday, August 29th at 6:07 pm. I thank God for sparing our home and giving my sweet little girl more time before coming into this world during such a devastating time.
Driving around even almost 2 months from when Harvey made land fall, you will still see devastation all around; sheet rock, furniture, personal belonging piled up in front of people’s homes just waiting to be picked up by the city. Many families are still displaced and are awaiting help to get back on their feet. I will continue to pray for these families in hopes they find a place to call home again.
I used to love a good thunderstorm, but I doubt I’ll feel the same anymore.  It will be a constant reminder of what is now to be the worst storm in U.S. history.

-Sarah D.