Tech: These stories of people being rescued from Hurricane Harvey will restore your faith in humanity

Ordinary civilians and rescue workers saved lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Texans have never seen anything like Hurricane Harvey. The storm pummeled the state with castastrophic flooding and winds topping 130 mph over the weekend.

Amid the devastation, the people of Texas and surrounding states have come together to rescue strangers from their homes and shelters. Their stories show tremendous bravery — and the photos and videos of the events will restore your faith in humanity.

A family near the Barker Reservoir in Houston escaped flooding on an air mattress. On Monday, journalists at local news station ABC13 found them and pulled them aboard their vessel.

Watch the video:

Source: Twitter/@abc13houston

A group of men pushed a stalled pickup truck through a flooded street in Houston, Texas.

Brandi Smith, a reporter with KHOU 11 News, was broadcasting from the side of the road when she spotted a stuck semi-trailer truck with the driver trapped inside the cabin.

Watch the video:

Source: Twitter/@meetmissjoness

Smith flagged down a Harris County Sheriff's Office truck driving by and alerted them to the driver. The rescue crew pulled him to safety just in time.

Watch the video:

Source: Facebook/KHOUBrandiSmith

Watch the whole scene unfold here »

Miguel Juarez (right) handed out free water to passing vehicles in Rockport, Texas.

Juarez and others from the Texas Rio Grande Valley created a make-shift aid station in Rockport, where residents picked through supplies like hygiene products and cereal.

H-E-B, a grocery chain based in San Antonio, Texas, closed its stores and deployed a convoy of disaster-relief vehicles — including mobile kitchens and pharmacies— to Victoria, Texas.

Brian Curtis with NBC 5 spotted the convoy staged outside Goliad, Texas. Watch the video:

Source: Facebook/BrianCurtisJournalist

Here you can see community members pouring into a H-E-B station for hot meal.

Watch the video:

Source: Twitter/@HEB

Ed Lavandera, a correspondent with CNN, put the microphone down to help a rescue worker save a woman and her two elderly parents trapped inside a house in Dickinson, Texas.

The whole family is now safe, according to CNN reporter Ana Cabrera. Watch the video:

Source: Twitter/@AnaCabrera

Read the full story over at CNN »

Alexendre Jorge ferried four-year-old Ethan from a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters.

On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott activated the entire Texas National Guard in response to Harvey. It brings the total number of deployed rescue workers from the Texas National Guard to approximately 12,000.

Source: Twitter/@OmarVillafranca

Ordinary citizens have also stepped up across waterlogged Texas. CBS News reported that more than 20 boats joined a civilian "navy" helping people evacuate from Harvey.

Source: CBS

Sterling Broughton got a lift from some friendly rescuers in Dickinson, Texas.

An unnamed man in Houston, Texas, left shore in a canoe to save motorists stranded on Interstate Highway 45, which was submerged under water.

Joe Garcia gave up his inner tube to float a kennel containing his dog, Heidi.

When a boat with the Murphy Fire Department came along, Garcia got his dog ...

... And carried him to safety aboard Todd Herrington's boat.

We'll continue to update this post throughout the day.

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Ordinary civilians and rescue workers saved lives in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Read Full Story