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Hurricane Harvey traps Dayton family in Houston; they finally make it home

A Dayton family recounts the harrowing experience of Hurricane Harvey and subsequent historic flooding that trapped them in Houston for days.

The Washingtons just got back into town Wednesday and are thankful to be alive and home once again. They drove through floodwaters as high as their sport-utility vehicles windows to make it back.

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“There was other people saying, ‘you can’t get out, you can’t go that way,’ and we said, ‘oh yes we can’ and did,” Kimberly Washington said.

The family eventually made it back to their hotel, where the situation only got worse.

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“The scary part is when they tell you to get out and evacuate, you have nowhere to go. Evacuate to go where?” Kimberly Washington said.

The Washingtons waited out the storm in the darkness of their hotel room, relying on each other and their faith to get them through.

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It wasn’t until the sun came out Tuesday that the family had a chance to get out.

“It was almost like the water cleared a path for us and we were able to get on the highway and make a run to Dallas,” Byron Washington said. “I had enough faith that we were going to make it out of there.”

They agreed that even through the worst of it, they are now stronger as a family than ever before.

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“It brought us a lot closer together because that’s all we had was each other to depend on. You have nothing but each other,” Kimberly Washington said.

The Washingtons said had it not been for their SUV, they never would have made it through the floodwaters to their hotel room and back home.

Now back in Dayton, the family said they want to start pitching in locally to help with relief efforts.

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