海角大神

Susan Keays stands at the water鈥檚 edge and shades her eyes to better see an approaching boat. As she holds her cellphone, verifying an address, she quickly counts heads. One volunteer is missing. This morning, they were strangers. Now, they are a sort of family.

She is on Memorial Boulevard, where kayaks and bass boats bob in a river that shouldn鈥檛 be. At first, she came to the edge of the flood to save horses. She is staying to save people.聽

As a volunteer, she鈥檚 amid the jumble of people trying to help the makeshift rescue crews stay safe themselves.聽

By profession, she is a business consultant. But on Memorial Boulevard, her face streaked with sweat, she exhorts rescuers to wear life jackets, gauges the stream depth, and cooperates with local law enforcement as boats disperse.

鈥淵ou could cause someone else harm, trying to save you,鈥� she explains.

Volunteers helping volunteers save lives. If there has been a theme to the first few days after the 50 inches of rain from hurricane Harvey last weekend, that has been it. Call it the Dunkirk-on-the-bayou: the thousands of heroes of Houston. They are not deputized and trained rescuers. They are salesmen, entrepreneurs, teachers, and mechanics.聽

And as America witnessed another Katrina-like disaster 鈥� the flooding of an estimated 30 percent of America鈥檚 fourth-most-populous city 鈥� civilian responders have shown an unfettered nimbleness, a rising spirit of can-do-ism, and a self-reliant spirit that helped a government overwhelmed by the storm鈥檚 human impact.

The question is whether the civilian army that showed up in Texas is a sign of what鈥檚 right or what鈥檚 broken.聽

So far, there has been no Katrina-like wave of criticism for the federal response. Earlier in the week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave it an 鈥淎.鈥� Volunteers, it seems, have simply helped the government deal with a disaster of tremendous scope.聽

But the challenge of relying so heavily on volunteers comes into focus when their cellphone communications crackle with the question, 鈥淭here鈥檚 looters, should we shoot 鈥榚m?鈥� 鈥� as happened this week. Or when volunteer rescuers themselves die, as happened when two were electrocuted by a downed wire. How much is it right to ask of Good Samaritans?

To some, the Harvey response bespeaks a lack of government commitment. But to others, it is an echo of an ethic that existed when the federal government loomed less large.

鈥淩emember, there was no federal response to the Great Molasses Spill鈥� that killed 21 people in Boston in 1919, says Northeastern University political scientist Daniel Aldrich, author of 鈥淭he Power of the People.鈥� 鈥淭he civil defense era, starting in the 1940s, began to change that, and it pendulum-swung into the Cold War, where everyone began to assume that someone is going to take care of them 鈥� and it would be the central government, not friends and neighbors. Now, hurricane Harvey will push the discussion of the government鈥檚 role in disasters back into the spotlight.鈥�

鈥⒙� 鈥⒙� 鈥�

The effects of that shift have been on vivid display here in Houston.

鈥淚t makes you proud to be a human to watch that work,鈥� says Bill Moore, the CEO of Zello, the app used to coordinate much of the Houston response. 鈥淵ou hear real, live stories [on the rescue channels]: 鈥楬ey, there鈥檚 a dog and three kids and they鈥檙e on the counter,鈥� and you can hear people whooping when help arrives.鈥�

鈥淭he fact that everyone is out there in their bass boats helping people get out is a silver lining of this tragedy,鈥� says Houston resident Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston as he triages emergency shelter for storm survivors.

The response to Harvey has already suggested a change in national readiness and disaster outlook from the all-government approach of civil defense era to a more flexible post-9/11 volunteerism.

It鈥檚 in part enabled by a Federal Emergency Management Administration that has abandoned strict top-down bureaucracy 鈥� a post-Katrina strategy to avoid overall failure when federal resources are overwhelmed.

But it鈥檚 also enabled by technologies that have turned smartphones into old-fashioned CB radios, helping unleash ingenuity.

In that way, to some, the response offers a way forward.聽

Civilian involvement in rescue 鈥渋s not a substitute for government doing its job, nor should it be, but it gets to this notion of a civil society, of people not just waiting around for government to do everything 鈥� that notion is the greatest savior of our country, going forward,鈥� says former Tulane University President Scott Cowen, a Katrina evacuee and author of 鈥淭he Inevitable City鈥� about the resurgence of New Orleans.聽

Politicians, parties, and federal agencies 鈥渃ome and go, but we live in these places, we鈥檙e here for a lifetime, so let鈥檚 fix it ourselves,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 love the stories of these faceless heroes: You don鈥檛 know their names, but they鈥檙e out there, in the thousands.鈥�

鈥⒙� 鈥⒙� 鈥�

Scott Sherman is one of them. A Houston resident, he decided to volunteer after seeing the flood footage on television. At the moment, his problem is that every boat is already stuffed with rescuers. He went out on one trip, but the water was too shallow and they had to abandon the rescue.聽

But he hasn鈥檛 given up hope. He bounces from group to group with indefatigable enthusiasm.

鈥淒o you need help?鈥� he calls to approaching boaters. They shake their heads and he waits for his next chance.聽

Moments later, it comes. He grins as he slings bags of wet clothes from a truck.聽

For the rescuers out on the boats, smartphones have offered some measure of coordination, with different volunteer crews talking to one another.

鈥淚t has been so effective, where you have thousands of boats and trucks coordinated,鈥� says Zello鈥檚 Mr. Moore. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fascinating. You can listen to how it鈥檚 all resolved, and it鈥檚 all live, with real lives at stake and real risk. At that scale and with the help and coordination [of government], you see the better half of human nature emerge.鈥�

In some cases, however, the communication has only highlighted the challenges that a volunteer rescue force faces.聽

聽鈥淥n one of the chats you heard, 鈥楾here鈥檚 looters, should we shoot 鈥檈m?鈥� 鈥� notes Moore. 鈥淪omeone yelled back: 鈥楴o, you can鈥檛 shoot 鈥檈m!鈥� Some of the [rescuers] are not trained, and you can hear that in their voices. Part of the risk is when you have helpful individuals in effect pretending鈥� to be professionals.

鈥⒙� 鈥⒙� 鈥�

Is this how it should be? Some say it points to a failed federal response.聽

Former Joint Task Force Katrina Commander Russel Honor茅聽called it 鈥渁mateur hour鈥� and said the government didn鈥檛 stage enough resources close to Houston. Where many see local resiliency, Mr. Honor茅, often credited with taking control of a lawless New Orleans to begin its recovery, saw a failure by Washington to 鈥渃ome in big,鈥� he told CNN鈥檚 Erin Burnett聽Thursday聽night.

鈥淭he federal government took their hand off it and went off to fight terrorism 鈥� and each time we have a Sandy or Harvey, the solution is different,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 cooked up locally by the state.鈥�

At the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, there are signs of confusion. Some volunteers are turned away when they are desperately needed. Other volunteers are first-timers, with more-experienced volunteers jockeying for leadership.聽

But that鈥檚 not bothering James Hahn II too much. As long as work is getting done and people are being helped, that鈥檚 all that counts, he says.聽

He had been actively involved in the social-media aspect of the disaster, but聽Monday he realized he had to do more.聽The first day he came to the convention center, he was told there were enough volunteers and he was not needed. So he returned聽Tuesday.聽

Now he鈥檚 sorting endless bags of donated clothing, separating it by gender and size. Being here has meant missing his son Fulton鈥檚 sixth birthday. He did his best to explain and promised they would celebrate later, when the waters have receded.聽But until then, he will show up at the convention center every day and lend his hands wherever they are needed.

鈥淭he biggest danger now is the sunshine,鈥� he says, squinting as he surveys the hundreds of evacuees milling around the convention center, waiting for assistance.

鈥淧eople start to feel like everything is normal again 鈥� and it鈥檚 not.鈥�