Hero Volunteers Rescue Horses From Sweeping Houston Flood Waters

Texans came together to save drowning horses from rising Houston waters on Monday

• Hero rescuers jumped into deadly Houston, Texas, floodwater on Monday to save over 70 horses that were struggling to keep their heads above water.
• The horses belong to Cypress Trails Equestrian Center in the town of Cypresswood, Texas – located right outside of Houston.
• Center owners estimate that 69 or 70 of them escaped Monday morning when creek waters rose to 25 or 27 feet over the normal level, reports ABC News.
• “Most of the horses that were evacuated to the south got to a neighboring farm safely. Most of what you see [in the videos] were horses in the barn we were trying to move across the currents with boats … or [horses] we thought had gone to a neighboring ranch [but were] trying to get back home, which is normal with horses,” Cypress Trails owner Darolyn Butler told the news station. “It was really chaotic.”
• Volunteers flocked to save the drowning animals – traversing the water in life jackets as they attempted to drag them to safety with ropes.
• Video footage of the various rescues show the incredible strength and determination Houstonians had as they pulled the animals to dry land.
• One horse died after becoming tangled in a fence, and, as of this morning, five are still missing.
• “Two we saw get into the river and be swept away. We’re hoping they managed to get out down the stream somewhere else,” Butler told ABC News.
• The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch through Wednesday morning. At least five fatalities have been reported since Houston began experiencing major flooding late Sunday night.

“Avoid travel in and around flooded areas,” the warning reads. “Most people who die in flash flooding will die in their vehicles. If in a flooded area stay where you are … at home or at work. Never drive into a flooded roadway. Turn around, don’t drown!”