Evacuating with no car after street flooding

A lot of Houston households do not have a working car when the water comes. That is normal. Walking a flooded feeder is not a plan. It is how people drop into open manholes.

If the street is still moving, stay put on the highest dry floor you can reach and call 911. If the water has dropped and you can see pavement, then you can talk about METRO, a neighbor, or a high-water truck.

Houstonians often report that rideshare pins fail when streets are closed. Assume the app is lying about ETAs.

Do this now

1. Look outside. If water is moving or you cannot see the curb, do not walk it.
2. Call 911 if you are trapped, medically fragile, or the water is still rising.
3. Text one out-of-area person your exact address and that you have no car.
4. When streets are passable, check METRO alerts and 211 for shelter transport, not a random highway walk.

If you are already in water

Get to the highest interior point that still has an exit. A second floor beats an attic with no hatch cut through the roof. Take pets with you.

Wave from a window if boats or high-water trucks are working the block. Save your phone battery for 911 callbacks.

Do not try to “just make it” to the overpass in chest-deep water. Bayou current on a feeder will take you sideways.

When the street finally drops

METRO buses and rail only help if the line is running and the stop is dry. Check METRO’s own alerts, not a screenshot from last night.

211 and ReadyHarris sometimes list shelter shuttles. Ask for that by name. A neighbor with a truck is fine if the water is gone and they are not driving a wake down the block.

Wear shoes you can throw away. Floodwater here is bayou, sewage, and whatever washed out of the Ship Channel side ditches.

Do this next

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2. What to bring if you have 20 minutes to leave
3. Shelters & evacuation hub

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