Warnings Unheeded
Few cars were headed our direction — north. But hundreds were headed south — right into the flooded area we were leaving!
Who were these people and where were they going? These were people who had evacuated to escape Beulah. Now that Beulah had passed they thought that it was all over and they were returning to their homes — contrary to the instructions being broadcast continually over the radio. But their homes were now in greater danger than ever and certainly more flooded than when Beulah struck. It was a pathetic, moving sight.
We made it to Corpus Christi only minutes before the roads became completely impassable. By now it was becoming obvious that the flooding and continuing rain were going to be a greater disaster than the hurricane itself. Highways throughout the area were being closed, emergency calls were going out for boats to evacuate people from a dozen or more different communities. And tornadoes were a continuing threat.
Operation Bravo
A few days later, when the skies had cleared, but when the flooding was at its worst, we flew photographers back into the area. They were able to land at Harlingen, home base for Operation Bravo — the Army's relief operation. Here they were extended every consideration by Army personnel. They were taken by Army helicopter over the entire area as the Army conducted rescue operations and dropped food supplies to those in need on both sides of the U.S. Mexican border.
PLAIN TRUTH photographer Lyle Christopherson gives this report on Operation Bravo:
I was assigned to a helicopter which flew missions into the heart of the disaster area. It was piloted by two Vietnam veterans, CW3 F. W. Cross, pilot, and CW3 R. L. Simkins, copilot. These men went about their flight assignment in the truly professional manner of persons not just doing a job, but doing this job with zeal, accuracy, dedication, integrity and a sense of purpose. With a combined flight log that totaled upwards of 6,500 hours, their procedures left no doubt that every movement or action during the flight had purpose.
Our first mission together was a late afternoon flight from Operation Bravo's Headquarters in Harlingen to Reynosa, Mexico. This flight went right over Harlingen's most beautiful homes — and also the area of some of the city's worst flooding. The flight continued over numerous large brimful flood canals and the wide, rampaging, debris-laden Rio Grande River.
At Reynosa our helicopter was assigned to drop food along the muddy Rio Grande as we proceeded to the north. Shortly after the huge CH-47B helicopter lifted off, we found our first food recipients. The big whirlybird lowered slowly along a section of railroad track and the crewman in the rear began throwing the heavy burlap bags containing canned foods to the eager, hat-waving amigos running down the tracks. The goods had to be dropped some distance away so that the wind from the helicopter blades would not blow the people into the murky-brown waters.
Several other similar stops were made before the mission was completed.
The next day began as the one before: a briefing at 0630, a quick cup of coffee, and the assignment of flight missions for the first half of the day.
It is not an easy job to be dashing about just a few feet above the murky floodwaters trying to find those who need prompt aid.
Nor is it a light matter to listen to the screaming turbines that supply the power for the huge helicopters. Even with adequate ear protection, the whine and clatter of just a few hours flight in one of these big helping hands of modern aviation made my ears ring for hours.
Surely the Army and these pilots and crew members deserve a pat on the back and a "thank you" for a job well done. And so do thousands of others who worked long hours under trying circumstances to help those in need: the telephone and electrical repairmen, the Red Cross volunteers, policemen and firemen, truck drivers, boatmen, food servers — and a host of others.
Other Problems
Adequate food, water and shelter were not the only problems faced by the flood victims. Whenever there is a disaster of this type and magnitude, the threat of disease is always present.
This report from the Tyler Morning Telegraph (Sept. 29, 1967) gives an insight into some other problems: "Texas fought clouds of mosquitoes so thick that they blackened a man's arm, leaving trails of blood when brushed away. Knots of writhing snakes were found in abandoned homes when residents came back. Two persons were bitten in the badly flooded area northeast of Corpus Christi, but were in satisfactory condition."
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In some areas a few trees were blackened with tarantulas trying to escape the floodwaters.
And then there was the smell. The smell of bloated and decaying cows, dogs and chickens. The smell of waterlogged wood, rotting fruit and vegetation, and water-soaked textile goods. The smell of fetid backed-up sewage. These and a hundred other smells seemed at times to dominate everything.
The memory of Beulah will linger for a long time to come in the hearts and minds of those whose lives were so forcibly altered by her.
PLAIN TRUTH Report Different
Hundreds of news media had their reporters and photographers covering this catastrophe. Some of the small newspapers could send only a lone reporter with his camera. On the other hand, the big magazines and radio and television networks had whole armies of reporters, photographers and cameramen on the scene with private jets, private helicopters, and hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of equipment all at their immediate disposal.
Some were there to sensationalize. Others were there just to fill their day's quota of 2,000 words of copy — whether they had something worthwhile to say or not. Many others were careless with the facts because they had a deadline to meet. At one point so many confusing "facts" were being circulated and printed that nobody knew what to believe.
Our purpose is to report to you those things which we have seen with our own eyes, and to check as carefully as we can those facts or accounts which we pass on to you from others. We do not "blow up" an already tragic situation just to fill up space, meet a deadline, or fill a quota. We receive no pleasure from telling of wrecked homes, destroyed property, disrupted lives, suffering, misery and death. But we have a commission to perform. And reporting the meaning of these terrible catastrophes is an important part of that commission. It is the meaning of this tragedy that has been overlooked.
What about it? Do you know WHY this tragedy struck? Was there a reason?
And does it mean anything to You — you who live in some other part of the United States, in Canada, England, South Africa, Australia or some other part of the world?
YES, IT DOES! Other news sources may have told you what happened. But they simply do not know WHY it happened. And they wouldn't be allowed to tell you if they did know!
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© Ambassador College
Hurricane Beulah's path of havoc,
showing the route toured by our own reporters and staff photographers in order
to bring you this firsthand report and its meaning in your life.
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That is what makes this report different. We have something far more important to tell you than just what happened. We will now tell you why this disaster struck South Texas and what it means to you, personally — whoever you are and wherever you live!