Early on the morning of August 27, as Hurricane Harvey pummeled Texas, floodwaters began lapping at the Nguyen family’s tree-lined front yard in Houston. Within hours, water rushed into their two-story brick house. The dad, Viet, plunged through the currents to grab life jackets and a raft from the garage.
“Are we going to die?” Brayden, 9, asked.
The Nguyens survived, but Harvey ruined most of their belongings and did major damage to their home. It was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. As the hurricane turned city streets into raging rivers, tens of thousands had to flee their homes. Thousands of others were left stranded, some waiting desperately on rooftops for rescue by boat or helicopter. At least 70 people died.
Less than two weeks after Harvey, Hurricane Irma—the strongest Atlantic storm ever recorded—led to a mass evacuation of millions of people in Florida after it flattened several islands in the Caribbean. Irma killed more than 50 people.
The rain came quietly, but quickly. At 5 a.m. on August 27, floodwaters washed against the Nguyen family’s tree-lined front yard in Houston, Texas. Within hours, water rushed into their two-story brick house. The family struggled to move everything they could upstairs, out of the water’s reach. Then the dad, Viet, plunged through the currents to grab life jackets and a raft from the garage.
“Are we going to die?” Brayden, 9, asked.
The family survived, but Hurricane Harvey ruined most of their belongings and did major damage to their home. The storm was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. It turned city streets into raging rivers. Thousands of people were left stranded in homes and on rooftops, hoping for rescue by boat or helicopter. At least 70 people died. Tens of thousands had to leave their homes.
Less than two weeks after Harvey, Hurricane Irma became the strongest Atlantic storm ever. Irma led to a mass evacuation of millions of people in Florida after it flattened several islands in the Caribbean. It also killed at least 50 people.