Video showing a woman handing a reporter a 6-pack from Galveston Island Brewing during live tv coverage may have made you laugh, but the deluge of rain in the hours since Hurricane Harvey’s category 4 landfall is causing catastrophic flooding in Southeast Texas.
At CraftBeer.com, we often refer to the powerful things craft breweries do in their communities. Typically, we mean that in terms of providing jobs and collaborating with organizations for fundraisers. But as Harvey turns Houston neighborhoods into scenes that frighten even long-time meteorologists, employees at a local brewery are getting attention for going into floodwaters to help.
(READ: The Weird Science of High-Altitude Brewing)
The National Weather Service’s Houston office has recorded at least 30 inches of rain in the suburbs as of Sunday evening. The 2-plus feet of rain is taxing Coast Guard teams and first responders as they try to reach people who can’t get out of their flooded neighborhoods.
Pooja Lodhia, a reporter at KTRK-TV, tweeted a video showing a truck from 8th Wonder Brewery in a flooded neighborhood. The tweet reads: “They say they called 911 and the coast guard – no answer. But @8thWonderBrew stepped up.”
In the video, you see the soaked team lift a woman into their oversized brewery truck. Other people — and a dog — are also in the truck bed. It’s one of the countless citizen rescues reported across the flooded area.
They say they called 911 and the coast guard – no answer. But @8thWonderBrew stepped up. #abc13 #Meyerland pic.twitter.com/3pv20byqRH
— Pooja Lodhia (@PoojaOnTV) August 27, 2017
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More than a dozen people who saw the video on Twitter chimed in to celebrate: “Rescued by beer!” But forecasters warn the storm is far from over. Meteorologists say Harvey could linger for days, and The Weather Channel says some places could see 50 inches of rain by the time the storm ends.
We reached out to the team at 8th Wonder who report they’re safe tonight. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by Harvey.
CraftBeer.com is fully dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the Brewers Association or its members.
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