Dramatic images of floodwater rescues near Texas-Louisiana border

Harrowing rescues in Beaumont and Port Arthur in eastern Texas.

By
EMILY SHAPIRO
August 31, 2017, 2:32 PM ET
7 min read

— -- As officials and good Samaritans go from home to home, saving Texans trapped amid Hurricane Harvey's devastating flooding, these dramatic images take you inside the harrowing moments of rescue.

Here is a snapshot of Wednesday rescues in Beaumont and Port Arthur, which are Texas cities east of Houston near the Louisiana border.

Torrential rain pummeled Beaumont this week, totaling 47.98 inches in the last five days. On Wednesday, one woman in Beaumont was rescued by air by a U.S. Navy helicopter.

Beaumont has lost its primary and secondary water sources, leaving 120,000 residents there without water today.

The Neches River in Beaumont is still rising and is forecast to crest on Friday morning at 20.2 feet. It is expected to begin to recede by the weekend but will remain in record and major flood stage into next week.

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As the rain moved east from Houston, flooding overwhelmed homes in the city of Port Arthur.

Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman told "Good Morning America" today, "Two nights ago, we had a lot of water. We got about 20 inches of water in about 24 hours, and it devastated our city. ... There's some parts that it's receded, it's gone down, but we still have people in 3- to 4-foot water in some homes."

Freeman said his own home was among those inundated with 4 feet of water.

Elderly residents of a Port Arthur assisted living facility were among those rescued on Wednesday.

The Port Arthur mayor told ABC News his biggest concern now is "the rebuild," but he's confident his city will do just that.

"We're going to bounce back," Freeman said. "We got hit with Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Harvey, and we've rebuilt every time. So we're going to rebuild this time. We're going to be OK."

Take part in Disney's Day of Giving: To support people impacted by Hurricane Harvey, call 1-855-999-GIVE, donate at www.RedCross.org/ABC or text "HARVEY" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

ABC News' Phaedra Singelis and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.