Trapped in a Storm Sewer
For days in June, 1989, tropical storm Allison had drenched Houston, TX. Kept indoors for days, 7 year old Latricia and her cousin, 8 year old Krystal, pleaded with Karen Reese (Latricia’s mom), “Can we go out and play?” Since the storm had abated significantly and other children were playing in the flooded street, Karen consented. After a while the two girls eyed a ditch with deeper, flowing water to wade in. That fun turned to horror when Latricia lost her footing and was swept away into a culvert. She disappeared! It wasn’t a culvert that opened on the other side of a road. It emptied into a catch basin and from there a shaft led to the storm sewer system. A neighbor had seen Latricia disappear, called 911 while her husband sent Krystal to get the mother. The firemen, police and many volunteers rushed to the scene. They knew the water dropped down a 3 meter shaft into a 1 meter sewer pipe. Frantically the whole crew tore off manhole covers, searching the roiling water with poles, but to no avail. Maybe the water had taken her all the way into the bayou just blocks away. The three hour search in the bayou was called off at 10 pm. Darkness in more than one form enveloped them all. It was hopeless. A distraught mother clung to Latricia’s picture and sobbed.
Meanwhile a terrified little girl had tumbled about like a rag doll as she bounced from one pipe system to another, nearly choking to death. Somehow her fingers latched onto a joint between two lengths of concrete pipe just as she lodged against some debris that stopped her disastrous hurtling. “Mommy, help me! Where am I?”
All through the night with the water thundering past her, Latricia hung on to her refuge. She pressed her head against the top of the pipe to breathe above the water, and prayed. When the water level dropped in the pitch dark pipe ants and mosquitoes were a problem. This was an excruciatingly horrible experience for a 7 year old girl for 12 hours. She dared not lose her place. Her cries were desperate. As soon as it became light enough people joined the mother in a search which was now considered a recovery of the body. At about 7:30 a.m. Tim Gabrysch and Bardomiano Garcia came to check on water levels in the sewer system, unaware of the tragedy that had happened. Once informed they swung into action. Uncovering a manhole not far from the culvert Tim descended into the pipe system. He was surprised that the water level had reduced to less than 30 cm. Moving along with his flashlight he detected something about 30 meters down a pipe too small for him to enter. “Little girl, are you there?” Amazingly an answer came back, “Who are you? I want my mommy!” “Can you work your way to me and I’ll take you to your mommy.”
She came. Tim scooped her up, retraced his path and boosted her up to his partner. At the hospital the slight concussion, a banged-up ankle, and a bruised forehead plus her all night survival convinced Dr. Rodriguez that Someone had been watching out for her. Can you imagine the joy her mother experienced!
(Based on the Reader’s Digest, Oct., 1990 article by P. Ola and E. D’Aulaire plus websites)
What if the two men had arrived hours or a day later? What if Latricia had not hung on? How terrible an ordeal for a small girl to be calling for mother in a storm sewer pipe when only God knows where she is. We’ve all likely complained about adversities. Why weren’t others rescued? Three others drowned in that storm. Could it be that each one of us has been spared from disasters we didn’t even know were facing us? Could it be that we repeatedly ignored God with not even a thank you for the basics of food, water and air plus the beauty and benefits of creation and then wondered why He doesn’t listen to us?
May the Lord be merciful to us and the many current flood victims.
Henry Wiebe