Coca-Cola Allows Men To 'Steal' Water For Harvey Victims

Stealing is against the law, unless, of course, the “offender” has permission from one of the world’s largest companies. Victims of Hurricane Harvey are short on water, so Coca-Cola allowed two men to break into their facility in Beaumont, Texas, to “steal” 14 cases of bottled water Saturday, USA Today reported Monday.

There were thousands of bottles of fresh water at Coca-Cola’s warehouse, but flooding prevented the company from distributing it. They informed Beaumont’s Fire Department, who then turned to Bill Zang, the president of the Hovercraft Unlimited Company. He waded through the flooded streets of Beaumont at 60 miles per hour on his hovercraft to recover the drinking water.

READ: Joel Osteen Refuses To Shelter Houston Harvey Victims In Church, Twitter Claims

Zang happily took on the task, bringing along his friend, Sam Byers and a hand saw and hammer. They were able to break the lock and successfully find water. “This is so much fun!” said Byers.

Getting free water might have been one of the lighter moments, but rescuers spend their days checking empty houses to make sure they’re evacuated. While occasionally they’re able to save a pet, sometimes they come across a dead body.

After Hurricane Harvey wreaked devastation on Texas, Zang left his home in Rockport, Illinois with two of his hovercrafts to help the victims. At least 50 people were killed by the storm that left tens of thousands displaced.

“I have no idea when we got here,” Zang told USA Today. “What was that, two days ago? Four? The days all start running together after a while.” He added: “There is still a lot of work to do.”

One person who didn’t leap out to help victims was televangelist Joel Osteen. While Houston residents braved the storm, Osteen tweeted from the comfort of his home. The doors of his church, an arena that could seat nearly 17,000 people, remained closed days after Harvey flooded Houston. It wasn’t until Osteen faced mass criticism on social media that he decided to aid in the relief effort.

Osteen claimed in a Sunday sermon that he didn’t do anything wrong — that those who spoke against him were merely naysayers who wanted to see him and Lakewood Church flounder.

WATCH: Pastor Ed Young Defends Joel Osteen For ‘Refusing’ Harvey Victims

“I’m a peace with taking the heat for being precautious. But I don’t want to take the heat for being foolish. It’s easy for people to make judgments from a distance without having all the information,” he said.

“Some people that don’t know the facts and don’t want to know the facts will continue to try to stir things up,” Osteen said. “They would love to discredit the ministry and lessen our voice, but can I tell ya, they’re not that strong. The forces that are for us are great than the forces that are against us.”

After Osteen posted the video of his sermon to Facebook, he took to Twitter to finish his response. “Be of good cheer. Nothing is a surprise to Him. God has already armed you with strength for every battle,” he tweeted. “Don’t give up when it’s hard, when life’s not fair. Have faith in the middle. He will bring you through it.”

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