Only two inches made it into Kara Koller-Wood’s house, but if you stepped out into the driveway, it reached about mid-thigh. After almost 10 years of living in her house, and just recently hoping to move down to Galveston, Koller-Wood’s home was ruined, filled with water that came in from the storm.

“I posted a plea for help on the neighborhood Facebook page,” Koller-Wood said. With 4 pets and a husband, she wasn’t going to risk staying in the flooding home. The floors were already decimated, and with even more rain to come, they decided to get out while they could.

“I shoved the cat into the carrier,” she said. “He was not happy. I put the oldest dog into a carrier and the other two dogs were on leashes. My husband carried them. I carried the bags with the other pets.”

Her Facebook post was answered: a boat cut through the water not ten minutes after her decision to get out of the house. She didn’t know the men that came to her rescue, they were sent by a Facebook friend who saw her post.

“We got in and floated to another neighbor who was on higher ground,” Koller-Wood said. At the end of the street and around the corner, their neighbor’s house never got any water at all. Only about 12 houses separated them. They rode the boat all the way up to the driveway before getting out, still pelted by rain. Their neighbor ushered them inside.

“She was an old friend that I used to sing with,” Koller-Wood said. “I actually bought the house because it was on her street.”

When they managed to get out of the storm, she embraced her friend, crying. Her cat wailed in its carrier. The hurricane raged on.

“I was so upset. I forgot everything but the dog and cat supplies,” Koller-Wood said.

Her friend let her borrow some clothes and put her wet ones in the wash. Things slowed down, and everyone started to relax a little.

“I was so relieved,” she said. “I just kept hugging my husband, pets, and friends…it was so scary.”

Now, she turns to her home, tearing out the ruined remains to start over in the ever-present shadow of Hurricane Harvey.