Houston Floods: Harrowing Photos from One Rescuer

01 of 21

Deciding to Help

Andrew White is a husband, a father of three and the president of a private equity firm. He is not a trained first responder. But on the morning of Sunday, Aug. 27, as the rain brought by Hurricane Harvey flooded much of Houston, White received a phone call that the police department. "They were looking for boats, and I had a boat," says White, 45. "It was clear the police didn't know how to drive a boat, so I said, 'I'll stay and drive.' " Now he shares images and memories of his week of rescues with PEOPLE.

02 of 21

Uneasy Waters

Hurricane Harvey rescueCredit: Courtesy Andrew White — Courtesy Andrew White

I'd brought my boat up from Galveston before the storm hit. I almost left it down at the coast but I thought, "Maybe I'll need it." I got the call around 9 a.m. on Sunday and I headed out. My house was dry but I only had to go two blocks to find the water.

03 of 21

Why He Did It

There were people who were cut off from the world. No phones. No electricity. They were just sitting there on their front porch hoping someone will show up. Then we show up in this boat in the middle of this massive rainstorm and they got the biggest smiles on their faces.

04 of 21

Tough Waters

It was shocking how fast the water was rising. We'd pass a car and it was just halfway up the door. Next time we went by all you could see was the top of the roof. You can see how high the water is because it comes up to the officer's chest.

05 of 21

Helping Everyone

Nobody was frantic. Not a single person. But some of the kids were scared and some of the older people were in shock. Some people wanted to stay behind but almost everyone who stayed behind ended up calling us back to get them later.

06 of 21

Door-to-Door Service

The waters were rising fast and the currents were moving swiftly, so we had to pull right up to people's front doors to get them.

There were many times I had to think, "I'm not sure the boat is going to make it. Is it safer for this person to stay put?" But we were just on the first days of the storm and the water was still rising so we had no idea what was going to happen. We just knew we had to get as many people out as possible.

07 of 21

Keeping Families Safe

When word started getting out that I was out there in my boat, my social media started blowing up and I would get text messages with addresses and names and descriptions. This was a family with a pregnant mom and two kids that we got towards the end of the first day. We were out there for 12 hours. We tried going longer but it got tough after dark.

08 of 21

Starting Day 2

The next morning I got up and we started all over again. We actually got a whole system going where one friend would drive the truck and tow the boat to where we needed to go since the waters were still rising and who knew where was safe to leave a car. You can see my friend David Magdol in this shot. He was with me for two days and was the one really getting in the water all day.

09 of 21

Tough Rescues

The next day we got out and did it all over again. We went further west and it was really wooded. It's still the worst part of Houston in terms of flooding. It was rough. At this house here, we had to figure out where the front door was. It was completely covered but we'd been told someone was there so we just started yelling out to them.

10 of 21

A Hospital Run

We crossed Braes Bayou at peak four times. There was a cancer patient who had just had surgery before the storm and he was having a very serious reaction and he had to get from one side of the bayou to the hospital on the other side. It was a wild crossing. There are no photos of the wild stuff because it was all we could do to get safely where we were going.

11 of 21

Tough Terrain

I've had this boat for two years but before this past week, I'd maybe spent 20 days in it. Now, I feel like I can do anyting in that boat. But it was tough. At one point the current rammed us into a tree and a rod broke. The propeller blades are so worn down because were boating over cars and stoplight posts for days on end.

12 of 21

In Need of Oxygen

We came across this 77-year-old man and he was waving at us from the balcony. His wife was sick and running out of oxygen. I took that picture because I wanted to send it to my crew. They texted back and said the hospital said, "You're not going to get one because there are none."

13 of 21

Getting Help

We realized this woman was incapable of moving and so we knew we had to get some help. Miraculously we found a paramedic outside and a big boat and some guys to help us carry her.

14 of 21

A Rough Rescue

The big boat breaks down and they are drifting until they grab a tree and another boat comes by and they have to transfer her to the other boat. As they go off, the husband gives me a smile and a wave. That made me feel really good.

15 of 21

Welcomed Smiles

How can you not take a pic of such cute kids. A lot of the children were very scared. They were quiet. Their eyes were as wide as they could be. But these kids (with David) were actually enjoying it and having fun. They were so young so they didn’t fully get it.

16 of 21

The Cat Lady

This is a really sweet lady who was standing on the outside of a flooded area. She'd been there when we arrived in the morning. She'd said, "Will you take me in? I've got four cats I've got to get out." I said, "Ma'am, we're really only taking people right now." So after about 6 or 7 hours we were finishing up and she was still on the corner and she said, "Can we go get the cats now?" And I said, "Okay, lets go get your cats." We went back in and some other rescuers asked for help so I dropped her off at her place and she said "Okay, just don’t leave me." We went and helped — and this is the end of day three and I'm so tired — and I'm just cruising back out and my friend goes, "You forgot the cat lady!" I literally said, "What cat lady?" I admit I'd totally forgot. But we went back and got her and she was so grateful.

17 of 21

Rest ... and Then Back Out

After three full days of being out on the boat, I finally had to crash on Wednesday. I was physically and mentally tired and I was so sore I could barely move. I thought, "The rescuing must be over." But I got a text at like 10:30 that night from someone saying, "I saw on social media that the police are calling for every boat they can get in South Houston." I thought, "Really?!" But we were the first boat to show up the next morning.

18 of 21

Helping Those Helping Others

There were 25 firemen and police officiers just waiting for anyone with a boat to show up so they could make their way into the neighborhood. We spent the day ferrying first responders back and forth.

19 of 21

Boats of All Kinds

Fire departments from a bunch of other cities came out to help and there were boats of all kinds out there. It was amazing to see everyone helping any way they could.

20 of 21

Another Cat Lady

We had another lady who needed to get her cats and my engine died as we were making our way out there. Luckily, I was able to get it restarted but of course she lived in the furthest back part of the neighborhood and my engine died again right as we got there. I said, "You go get the cats and I'll let the engine rest." We were lucky on that one to get back out.

21 of 21

From Rescue to Recovery

Friday I spent the day cleaning my office, which got water damage. There are a lot of areas of Houston that are still affected by the water but I'm really touched seeing how everyone is banding together in this town to help each other. It doesnt matter if you live in a $5 million home or a $500/month rental, everyone is the same and everyone is helping everyone else. I'm just glad I could do my part.