Residents of the nursing home can be seen covered in blankets, sitting waist-deep on recliners. One woman is even seen knitting as the water reaches her waist.
The woman who owns the nursing home sent the picture to her daughter Kim McIntosh and her son-in-law, Timothy McIntosh, who posted it on Facebook and pleaded for emergency help.
Need help asap emergency services please RETWEET pic.twitter.com/LesxeaIHNm
— Timothy J. McIntosh (@DividendsMGR) August 27, 2017
In an interview with CNN Kim McIntosh said: “My mom sent it to me at 9 this morning. She said it was a disaster,” McIntosh said Sunday. “They [were] waiting for helicopters or the National Guard.”
“Most of these people are in wheelchairs and on oxygen,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh said that when she spoke to her mother, Lampson told McIntosh that the residence was not told to evacuate. Instead, they were instructed to stay in place and have a disaster plan.
McIntosh said that the water became waist-deep 10 to 15 minutes after it first started flowing through the doors.
But when the situation turned dire and Lampson began reaching out for a rescue, she was told that first-responders wouldn’t be able to help, the daughter said.
“They were basically told no one was coming because they couldn’t reach them,” McIntosh said. “They might be put on a list, and that was it.”
“That’s when we decided to go ahead and tweet the photos, because we were afraid she wasn’t going to get any help,” McIntosh said.
The picture quickly went viral and the National Guard was notified and mobilized.
By the early afternoon, McIntosh said the residents had been safely airlifted visa helicopter to safety.
Harvey continues to unloaded devastating floods with rainfalls of around 40 inches for Houston.
