For Jeremy and Autumn Helms and their family, this was not how their move from Palm Harbor to Houston was supposed to end -- being rescued from their home by boat as the waters started rushing in.

  • Houston family from Tampa rescued during Harvey
  • Jeremy and Autumn Helms recently moved to Houston in March
  • Family had to be rescued by boat as waters rose

"Honestly, we're not in a flood area, so we didn't think that we would ever get flooded, so it was a complete surprise that that happened to us," Jeremy said.

The Helms and their three children--ages 6, 3, and 9 months--moved from their Tampa Bay hometown to the Lone Star State for a new job and a new life back in March. All that was virtually washed away on Monday when the rising flood waters rose to their front door. 

"When it started coming up the street that morning, we didn't think that it was going to make it to our house. That was about 8:30 a.m., then within an hour, two hours, I mean it was coming up over our driveway into our garage and it was terrifying," Autumn said. 

Jeremy added, "When it got to our front porch area, we decided to get out of here because it was moving very, very quickly." 

With help from their new church family, they were carried to safety. They are currently staying in a hotel room, and albeit not the best timing, they said they are still glad they made the move to Houston. 

They said they want everyone back home in Tampa to know they're okay. 

"We just want to thank everybody for their prayers. We're just grateful to be here and grateful that we all got out safely," Jeremy said.