N.J. native trapped in his Houston apartment due to Harvey

Monday, August 28, 2017
HOUSTON, Texas (WPVI) -- With Hurricane Harvey dumping unprecedented levels of rain on Houston, massive flooding has trapped some people in their homes.

We spoke with a New Jersey native who's currently stuck in his third floor apartment in Houston.

29-year-old Andrew Riebel and his fiancée, 27-year-old Megan Evans, left Bellmawr, New Jersey on the Fourth of July to start a new chapter in their lives in Houston.

He says they've never seen so much rain that's lasted three days almost non-stop.

"In terms of a prolonged event like this, I've never experienced anything like this," he said.

Their years of going through snow storms and blizzards instinctively made them stock up on plenty of food and water, and so far flood waters have not reached their third floor apartment in south Houston near Interstate 45 (the Gulf Freeway).

"The streets leading to I-45 were littered with vehicles that had broken down, there is debris, mud, deceased animals all over the roadway," Riebel said. "Seeing the streets with the deceased animals, that was really upsetting, especially for my fiancee.

The electrical engineer who just graduated from Drexel University says due to flood waters, they would not be able to get beyond a half mile radius of their place at the Windwater at Windmill Lakes Apartments.

And now because of the unrelenting wrath of Harvey, he says it looks like a lake looking outside their window.

"There were so many unknowns, so many variables that made me a little nervous. But we're nearing the end of it. So, I'm confident the worst has passed. But it was a little worrisome," he said.

We asked, if this storm had happened before they moved there, would they have done it? He thought about it, and despite everything they've gone through, he says "yes."
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