88 / Chapter 4
the ramps leading to loading docks below ground level. It fl owed
into subterranean parking garages. It knocked down concrete walls
and pushed open doors to the buildings. Many of the facilities lost
power, and backup generators failed because hurricane planning
recommended placing them in basements, where they were quickly
submerged.
Twenty-two people died in the fl ooding in Houston and nearly
seven thousand required rescue.^7 Several hospitals within the TMC
relocated patients. Although no human lives were lost at the TMC,
over 35,000 animals died there. The basement of the Baylor College
of Medicine’s research facilities housed 120,000 animals. Because
of the fl ooding, the staff member scheduled to care for the large
animals, including cows, dogs, and pigs, over the weekend, could
not reach the TMC. Fortunately, the facility manager, Dan Martin,
had checked into a nearby hotel. His pager awoke him in the early
morning hours, and when he arrived at the building, he began to
rescue animals. He saved 13 dogs and, when he met up with three
faculty members, the team saved a cow, around 25 rabbits, and 4
pigs. By this time, water was rising too fast to continue. The major-
ity of the animals at Baylor were mice, as is true of most medical
research facilities and in research overall. The water levels eventu-
ally reached eighteen to twenty-four feet. As Martin reported, he
found it “impossible to tackle anything concerning the mice.” None
survived the ordeal. According to reports, 30,000 mice presumably
drowned. Those who did not drown in fl oodwaters count as what
Baylor offi cials consider “residual losses,” dying from disease, star-
vation, or dehydration. Numerous birds starved to death because
of the power outage. Some reports put the number of animals who
died at Baylor as high as 90,000.^8
Nearby, at the Center for Laboratory Animal Medicine and
Care of the University of Texas Health Science Center, the scene
was repeated. Here, too, the major animal care facility was located
in the basement. At midnight on Friday, June 8, the facility man-
ager had reported that all was well. By two A.M. on Saturday, the
basement had begun to fl ood. Personnel who lived nearby tried to
reach the facility but were kept away by waist-deep water. By 3:30