Stories of survival: Houston family describes escaping flooded home

HOUSTON — Walking into a public shelter after floodwaters overcame your neighborhood might seem overwhelming for a young girl, but not 9-year-old Nevaeh Gibson.

“My dad was sleeping and I was just lying down with my dog,” she said. “Then I saw the water and I ran yelling, ‘Mommy, Mommy! There’s water. We need to go now,’” Nevaeh said.

After a frightening rescue from their home, which was filled with water from Hurricane Harvey, she and her family made it to the Houston Convention Center.

“We couldn’t all get in on a speedboat, but some of us got on a speedboat,” Nevaeh said.

Chacara Gibson put Nevaeh and her grandfather in the boat first.

“The water was rising and I had to get us out of there. My dad is sick. He has congestive heart failure,” said Gibson.

After they got out of the boat, they loaded up on a big truck and made the journey through flooded streets.

They have to share their makeshift home with more than 9,000 people for now, but Gibson said it will serve as a lifelong lesson in her family—that you can overcome.

“It was a good experience for my daughter,” Gibson said. “She really needed to see this so we can be stronger.”

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Cox Media Group