Numerous families found themselves forced to climb onto their roofs, use mattresses as makeshift rafts, and swim through deep waters to reach safety. Now, about a week later, they express a common sentiment: gratitude.
INGRAM, Texas — In a small neighborhood in Ingram, the homes are destroyed — but all the neighbors survived.
Though there is not much left of the houses, especially the Taylor family’s home, they said they are feeling grateful.
Jeremy Taylor and his wife, Mandie Aguilera, shared their survival story nearly a week after floodwaters rushed into their home.
“We’re a family full of survivors,” Aguilera said.
The couple had friends and family over that night — eight people total, including their six-year-old daughter.
When they went to bed, they never imagined they would wake up to the Guadalupe River raging at their back door.
“I was sleeping pretty heavy until we heard a noise in the back — it was actually some trees breaking,” Taylor said.
In mere minutes, the water had risen to their waists and then their chests, they recalled. In a desperate bid to escape, they managed to swim outside, clamber onto a truck, and finally reach the roof.
“Everyone else’s vehicles drifted away. If his truck hadn’t been wedged against the house, we wouldn’t have had anything to climb on,” Aguilera mentioned.
But amid the chaos, their 9-year-old Labrador was nowhere to be found.
“It was tough,” Taylor said.
Eventually, when the water receded, everyone in the neighborhood was found alive — but there was still no sign of their dog.
“We came out every day looking for her, calling out for her,” Aguilera said. “And on Sunday, she was sitting on the porch steps — and she’s good.”
They took her to the vet, where the only injuries found were a couple of ear infections.
The couple said they were emotional when their entire family was finally back together.
“She found her way home,” Aguilera said.
Since then, they said the support from neighbors and even strangers has been overwhelming.
“There’s a lot of devastation and a lot of bad,” Taylor said. “But there’s a lot of good.”
If you would like to help this family, they have started a GoFundMe.
