When Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas in 2017, it dropped about a year’s worth of rain in just a four-day period. Across the state, tens of thousands of people required rescue, and an estimated 300,000 buildings were damaged. In the small town of Sour Lake, about 70 miles northeast of Houston, the flooding was so bad that many residents were trapped in their houses, unable to drive their cars on streets that began to look more like rivers.
Brent Walters, an Allstate agent who lives in Sour Lake, realized that he could go out in the neighborhood in an industrial tractor that was tall enough to get through the water. His rescue efforts began with just a couple neighbors who flagged him down—but soon, Brent, his brother, and their friends were running routine rescue missions around the town. In their tractors and boats, their makeshift team provided reassurance, relief, and guidance after the unexpected happened.
Watch Brent’s story—and how that small town came together to keep each other safe and help each other recover—above.
