HOUSTON – We’re marking the five year anniversary of hurricane Harvey, by revisiting some of the people and places that made an impact on us during the storm.
A Meyerland family became a face of the heartbreak when images of the mom and toddler being taken from the water went viral.
Houston Life met up with the Phams to see how they are doing today.
A picture is worth a thousand words. A mother clutching to her newborn. Rescued from her home that had been flooded out by hurricane Harvey. Five years later that famous picture has been immortalized at the corner of Beechnut and Chimney Rock in southwest Houston.
Little Aidian is five years old now. He’s starting kindergarten and adjusting to his new home.
While he doesn’t remember much, his curious mind is full of questions about what happened during hurricane Harvey.
“As he’s gotten older, he’s known to ask questions,” said Catherine Pham, Aidan’s mom and Meyerland resident. She added, “He knows that our house was flooded with hurricane Harvey, and as he gets older he ask, ‘Oh what happens when it rains?’ or ‘Oh yeah i remember that. Our house flooded.’ So he connects two and two together whenever a situation comes up while watching something on tv about the weather. Then he has questions about it.”
Troy, Catherine, and Aidian Pham’s lives were turned upside down when hurricane Harvey flooded out and destroyed their home. Instead of trying to fix what was broken, they had their home demolished and completely rebuilt.
“Right after the hurricane we were displaced so we kind of moved from apartment to rental home and then into this house. So he moved around quite a bit so it was nice to have some place to stay and settle that he can call, ‘This is my house,’” said Pham.
And as you can tell, Adian is adjusting well.
“We’re built up and elevated enough that fear that, that post traumatic fear of it happening again. To us has kind of gone away, said Pham.”
“I feel like we’re comfortable now. I think that first year was different for us because there was a lot of changes. We we’re kind of rushing in with the pandemic. So we weren’t quite settled yet. I feel like maybe last year was more of a settling in for us.”
The Pham family is grateful for where they are now. Lessons learned and knowing the importance of helping your neighbor in tough times.
“What have I learned from this?” asked Troy. He answered, “I’ve learned that there’s more than just us. That there are other people and I’ve tried to do a lot. When I hear there’s a situation in other towns that have had devastation, I’m one of the first ones to step up and volunteer.”
“I think we’re extremely fortunate. We’re fortunate to have a lot of friends and family that have helped us through this process. We are very fortunate in that regards and we are fortunate to have a great community here in Meyerland.”