Jeffrey Caplan
With thousands of people desperately needing to be rescued from the rising waters in Houston, the Cajun Navy, a volunteer rescue force from Louisiana, reportedly found itself fighting an unfortunate battle against looters as Harvey dumped more rain on residents and their flooded homes.
Videos by Rare
The Cajun Navy’s Clyde Cain told CNN that people tried to steal his crew’s boat after it broke down and they sought shelter in a delivery truck. Others, Cain said, were so panicked by the situation they they rushed rescue boats and even shot at them if they didn’t stop.
“They’re making it difficult for us to rescue them. You have people rushing the boat. Everyone wants to get in at the same time. They’re panicking. Water is rising,” Cain told CNN. “We have boats being shot at if we’re not picking everybody up. We’re having to pull out for a minute. We’re dropping an airboat right now to go rescue a couple of our boats that broke, and they’re kind of under attack.” Cain later posted a video to Facebook, saying that none of the Navy’s members were hurt.
According to WGNO, the Cajun Navy formed a year ago during devastating flooding in the Baton Rouge area. The makeshift maritime force is a group of men and women who own boats and brave flooded areas to help stranded people and handle other disaster relief services. The group mobilized over the weekend as Harvey pounded Houston and surrounding areas with torrential rainfall.
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According to CNN, federal officials are predicting Harvey will drive 30,000 people into shelters, and some 450,000 victims will seek some sort of disaster assistance. Rare has compiled a list of ways to help the victims.
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