this is "nightline." >> tonight, flood of problems. a texas city drowning but nothing to drink. lines for clean water stretching for miles. a chemical plant fire raging and terrifying home invasions. >> looked down and there was a ten-foot alligator in my dining room. >> but at the shelters where thousands are still living some children and families finding hope. ♪ happy birthday to you plus the posse foundation. it's more than just a scholarship. it's a support network, sending traditionally overlooked students to prestigious universities in groups of ten. >> i knew i needed a small over large college. >> watching leaders emerge. >> you can do it. >> and dreams come true. >> you got it? you got it!

oh, my god. mom, she got the scholarship. >> but first the "nightline" 5. number 1 in just 60 seconds.

good evening. thanks for joining us. it's been one week since harvey tore through texas, unleashing historic devastation.

tonight as the flood waters recede new threats surface. with a town waiting desperately for clean water while the young victims in the shelter get a safe space. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: a week after hurricane harvey rode ashore in texas the lone star state is on the long hard road to recovery. some cities seven days later still underwater while others picking up the remnants from the battering winds. so many displaced. and tonight at a volatile chemical plant fires continue to explode. >> this is still an active, ongoing incident, and our focus really is dealing with the remaining six containers and the safety of the citizens in the area. >> reporter: but in orange, texas signs of relief. we're with the army national guard and one of the things we're seeing is that a lot of the people who needed help have already been rescued. but these guys aren't taking any chances. they are going through these neighborhoods to make sure everyone is safe. >> reporter: these men are some of the 6,300 military personnel deployed to southeast texas rescuing more than 1,200 people.

about 40 miles west in the city of beaumont rivers continue to rise. but there isn't a drop to drink. the water supply for this city of 120,000 is completely cut off. >> this flooding poses an ongoing threat to beaumont and the surrounding area. and beaumont is working aggressively at a fast pace to try to get the water system fixed. >> reporter: today residents lined up in their cars for miles, some waiting seven hours to get some drinking water. my colleague matt gutman was there. >> have you seen how long this traffic jam is? >> yes. >> is it about two miles long? >> maybe a little longer than that. we're doing our best. we're going to try to have trucks here as much as we can. >> reporter: they're working around the clock to restart the pumps. but still it could take at least a week for the city to get clean water again. 100 miles down the road from beaumont in west houston there's a crowd gathered at the water's edge. >> who needs to go to the paramount apartments? okay, come on. >> reporter: days after this city flooded nonstop rescues still happening throughout the day. >> if you are living in a home

today with water in your home, that situation is not going to change for the next 10 to 15 days. >> reporter: city officials urging anyone in west houston with water in their homes to get out now. warning that releases from nearby reservoirs could keep as many as 20,000 homes flooded for the next two weeks. >> we cannot spend the next 14, 15, 16 days being a water taxi service when we still have so much to do. >> reporter: even though evacuees are scattered across the state, more people are crowded into houston's convention center than any other shelter. >> are you guys going to try to take that down? >> reporter: amid the rows of cots and blankets a splash of color and a sound some thought they wouldn't soon hear. >> uh-oh. >> reporter: a child's laughter. >> he had to try it for himself, right? >> reporter: relief organization save the children has set up this child-friendly space, a haven for the youngest whose lives are now upended. they've set up shop here in houston and in san antonio. >> at my house i have a big window like the size of one of

these walls. and it -- the hurricane hit it and it broke. >> reporter: they've got a staff trained in what they call psychological first aid, and the space is a bright and welcoming environment for parents to drop off their children for a few hours, time needed so they can begin to deal with this new reality. >> one of the most important things when you have kids go through that kind of trauma is to get to a place where they can just be a kid again. and that's what these child-friendly spaces are all about. >> reporter: anthony friesen was at his apartment when the water started rising. >> but my car is over here across the street in the parking lot over there. it drowned. >> reporter: he was rescued by a few good samaritans and is now here with his three children, happy to be alive but unsure of their future. >> they don't know it but they lost all their clothes. how do i help my son? how do i help my kids? how do i help them comprehend this situation? how do i he help them to understand the gravity of what's going on but also keep the stress off their minds?

>> this will not be easy. this is a huge recovery effort. you're going to need all those people to help. and to help everybody get back to that time when kids can get back to school, when people can get back into some kind of housing. >> reporter: in the week since harvey struck it's left an almost incalculable toll. at least 39 deaths within blamed on the storm. more than 185,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed with more than 42,000 people currently in texas shelters. damage estimates for the region are in the tens of billions of dollars. the scope of the devastation evident in these before and after images. just to show you how quickly this water has been receding here in orange, texas we're told these cars were almost entirely underwater just two days ago. it was just about up to here. and it was knee deep yesterday. now you can see we can actually see the grass. the cars are out of the water. >> reporter: but even though the rain has stopped, the challenges haven't. as displaced residents and rescue workers wade through still flooded streets, they face

unseen dangers. two volunteer rescuers reportedly died and two more are reportedly missing after they were possible will i electrocuted on monday. these two reporters from dailymail.com who were with them managed to survive after a harrowing 18-hour ordeal. >> i looked up and we were about 20 feet away from these downed power lines. and the current was taking the boat into the downed power lines. >> reporter: the occupants jumped off. the boat crashed into the power lines. >> a bug zapper. that's the best way to describe. amplified probably 10 million times. >> reporter: but they couldn't avoid electricity. >> i jumped off the boat, for my life and thinking we're going to go straight for these power lines. and yeah, the next thing i realize i'm being shocked in the water. i still don't know how i'm alive. >> come on. >> reporter: another threat, unwanted visitors. police and local wildlife experts removed this nine-foot alligator from a family's back

yard. >> we do know there are a lot of large alligators in this area. >> reporter: that's small potatoes compared to this 12-foot gator texas game wardens had to move from a high traffic area. >> and he has been through a lot. >> reporter: other animal rescues, meanwhile, have been more tame. >> we've been very busy. we've taken in over 200 wild animals already. >> reporter: at the wild animal center of texas exotic animals like this frigate bird are being treated for injuries. >> this particular bird has a fracture. he may have to have surgery. we don't know yet. >> reporter: carrying crates of beloved pets to safety. >> reporter: for many people hit by harvey this has been the hardest week of their lives but for 7-year-old a.j. this marks a new beginning. ♪ happy birthday dear >> today is a.j.'s 7th birthday. unfortunately, he has to be here. >> reporter: a temporary home. not the most ideal location, his dad admits. >> take him to get his hair cut. let him have a little fun on the outside.

just to get from around here. >> reporter: but if anything is out of the ordinary don't tell a.j. >> what do you want for your birthday? >> reporter: his story like so many others, he may not have a home or many possessions but he's alive. a gift worth celebrating. >> i believe that god will find a way to make good of this situation not only for us but for everybody else. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm gio benitez in orange, texas. up next, they've got brain, they've got heart, but best of all, they've got each other. the scholarship program sending traditionally overlooked students to prestigious universities. in posses. his happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again.

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typically, college admissions are based on grades and test scores. but the people at the posse foundation believe students are more than just numbers. for decades they've made it their mission to give promising students the chance to succeed. here's my "nightline" co-anchor byron pitts. >> i'm going to college. road trip. 14 hours. >> mother. >> yeah. >> should i bring these jars? >> yeah. you're going to need them for all the clothes you're bringing. >> reporter: across the country the season for both a bittersweet and joyous rite of passage. >> the disaster she's leaving behind. >> reporter: 17-year-old amaya munoz putting the finishing touches on her last-minute packing before takeoff. >> i was just looking at baby pictures over there. >> big day. >> yeah. >> big day. very big day. very proud. >> reporter: meanwhile, across town. >> ready? >> yes, we are.

taking jazz out. >> jasmine kerr is also beginning her journey. >> everyone is friendly and nice. >> reporter: from the bronx, new york to depaul university in greencastle, indiana carrying her family's hopes on her shoulders. >> my older brother, he went to stonybrook university and he wasn't successful there. he actually dropped out. >> he felt isolated in college. >> yes. >> it's just a transition, a culture shock. not having that support unit, that system in place, and the friends to lean on. >> reporter: but jazmine comes with allies her brother never had. posse. a scholarship program combining a four-year full-tuition grant to some of the country's most prestigious schools. and it also comes with a built-in support network. the unique program sends students to college in groups of ten, posses, to have each other's back through the college years. >> historically, merit has meant

high test scores in admissions. and that is problematic because the students in this country who get the highest scores on the s.a.t., for example, are white and asian. >> reporter: so to help level the playing field, deborah beal started the posse program. >> it's exciting to see all of you in here. >> reporter: identifying star students through qualities like motivation and just plain grit that she says can't be measured by standardized tests and slowly helping change the demographic landscape at elite colleges across the country. >> 17,000 young people have been nominated across the united states for this scholarship this year. >> reporter: only 740 will be selected. matched to one of posse's 57 partner universities. some of the best in the country. jazmine's quest began last fall. when she walked through these doors for the first round of interviews. >> it would mean getting like a support system in college, which is one of the hardest times. >> reporter: another candidate from the bronx, christoph shakur

larman. he's always had to weigh his ambitions with the humble reality. >> i come from a low-income family. so this scholarship will help me push myself into getting into double majors for engineering and physics. that's what i really want. i really just want to work. >> reporter: we followed posse in new york as they narrowed down this year's candidates. it involved months of interviews and carefully observed group interactions like this one, in an imaginary career at a toy company. >> after that do we have it correct? >> posse is finding extraordinarily talented young people, kids who might have been missed by traditional admissions screens because maybe they didn't go to a great high school, maybe they didn't have the best test score. >> there are those who think that and think ah, they're watering down the admissions process, they're lowering their standards. >> you miss so much of a person when you focus totally on test scores and grades. when you look beyond a test score, when you look at the whole person, you see so much

that can contribute to an academic environment and a social environment, which college is. >> we're relying on you. >> reporter: 90% of posse's scholarship recipients graduate college, far aboston national average of 53%. as the selection process continued in new york, the pressure began mounting. >> what do you know about round 2? >> it's a one-on-one interview. >> kristoff, the nasa home, spends an afternoon prepping with his guidance counselor, and cracks begin to show. >> good eye contact. my eye like -- >> i know. you struggle. and that's why -- i mean -- and i told you guys to practice on your own. i think you need to practice with someone. >> i've never had an interview before. >> reporter: after the next round of interviews he receives disappointing results. jazmine and amaya, classmates at a bronx high school, have been practicing mock interviews on the weekends. >> describe your leadership style. >> no, you can't. >> reporter: for amaya, an

aspiring engineer, her first choice, the university of wisconsin at madison, one of the country's top schools for computer science. >> but then i was thinking, if i don't get posse would i still really want to go to wisconsin by myself without -- i was like i can't go there if i don't get posse. >> reporter: three months after starting the process, finalists from around new york set out on their pilgrimage to downtown manhattan for their last and deciding interview. >> i've been waiting weeks to finally go to this interview and see how it's going to be. >> after all this ill could go home empty-handed. >> grab a seat. >> reporter: behind closed doors the finalists audition for what may be their most important roles yet. >> it was good seeing you. >> it was good seeing you. >> talk to me if you find out anything. >> reporter: later that night our cameras joined a number of students as they awaited word. >> we found a few additional

items left behind. there's a t-shirt that had a uw madison badger on it. and and it has the name amaya -- >> you got it? you got it. yes! yay! oh, my god. ma. amaya got the scholarship! [ crying ] >> thank you. >> when the call came you were nervous? were you praying? >> we were nervous. i was crying. >> i was kind of just shocked. i didn't even believe it. >> i'm so proud of you. >> honestly, college is a big responsibility. and i wasn't really able to pay it. so this was basically like an answer to prayers. >> amen to that. >> thank you so very much. they're all clapping. >> jazmine's win, a culmination of a promise she'd made to her father six years ago.

>> she on a whim just looked at me one day and said daddy, don't worry about school. i'm going to get a full scholarship. and i just said okay, like i believe it when i'll see it. >> yay. >> at that point i didn't know if i was walking on cloud nine, but life just changed at that moment. >> pretty much with the support group i think you can do almost anything. >> so happy, so proud. >> reporter: jazmine and amaya, part of a milestone for the posse foundation. this week marks a billion dollars in scholarships awarded. >> tell me when you get there. all right. bye. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm byron pitts in new york. when we come back, the heroes of houston. extraordinary acts of courage and kindness from ordinary people. not all fish oil supplements provide the same omega-3 power.

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and finally tonight, an entire region so badly in need and an entire nation there to help. we salute the heroes of houston.

here's abc's tom llamas. >> reporter: we witnessed countless acts of heroism. first responders risking their own lives. >> patient's inside. >> reporter: everyday people like brothers alex and george jackson. using their own boat to save their neighbors. >> it's really sad. some of the areas where we stop in the boat you can't see if it's a foot or ten feet. >> reporter: jumping into action when we told them about a woman we heard was trapped. >> yvette? this is your home? >> yeah. it's our home. and these are our neighbors, yvette and james. one of our boys is here. and i'm going to start crying like an idiot. we feel still very fortunate. we're happy for your help. we're happy to get out. >> reporter: and we met young heroes as well. these students rushed to help their teacher when she returned to her flooded out home. >> i didn't even have to call. they just showed up. >> reporter: so she's your fourth-grade teacher. i mean, that was years ago. >> yeah. >> reporter: but you still showed up. why? >> i just wanted to help out any

way i could. >> happy birthday. >> reporter: and who could forget mattress mack? >> we have lots of beds. we have lots of food. we have water. >> reporter: the houston businessman who opened up his furniture stores giving shelter and comfort to so many. heroes of houston. those with badges and those without. saving lives, restoring hope. >> tom llamas, thank you. and thanks to all the heroes of houston. thanks for watching abc news. and as always, we're online at abcnews.com and our "nightline" facebook page. good night, america. have a great labor day weekend.

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