NYPD, FDNY ready to help flooded Texas residents - 'all about paying back' after Superstorm Sandy

ANGLETON, Texas (WABC) -- In the tiny town of Angleton, Texas they have never seen an NYPD van. The Emergency Services Unit K-9 Team was among 80 other New Yorkers who came to help the flooded towns after Harvey devastated the region. NYPD officers and FDNY members traveled 36 hours across the country in a convoy to help pull people out of their flooded houses.

When Eyewitness News heard up in Houston that the NYPD were in 40 minutes away in Angleton, we wanted to drive the 40 miles to come and see them - but the drive took six hours. It is very tough going on the roads around Houston, because of the flooding that continues to get worse - it changes almost by the minute.

Sometimes driving on a major road will be fine, until you round the bend and it will be flooded with 8 to 12 feet of water. That flooding is posing a bit of a problem for the out-of-town rescue task forces because the convoy vehicles cannot get through the flooded streets any better than a civilian car can, and they have to figure out how to get to their destination.

In the end, Eyewitness New found the New Yorkers, and it is all about paying back the goodness they received, and that New York received in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

The task force travels with all its own equipment, including small off-road vehicles. There are also inflatable boats transported from the back of pick-up trucks. As soon as FEMA gives the order on where to go and where people are who need rescuing, these NYPD officers and FDNY firefighters will be on their way to help.