After more than 12 inches of rainfall on April 17-18 caused floodwaters to envelop large parts of Katy, emergency officials and citizens sprung into action helping to rescue neighbors and provide supplies and care for those who were displaced.

But as city officials scrambled to react to the storm, some people took another approach: joyriding through the floodwaters in four-wheel drive vehicles and an airboat.

Katy Mayor Fabol Hughes expressed his frustration with the joyriders during the April 25 City Council meeting.

“People [were] driving down the street doing rooster tails, pushing water into homes,” Hughes said. “We had some idiots on airboats, doing fishtails on Avenue D.”

Hughes said some of the joyriders drove down the street he lives on, and pushed water onto his and his neighbors’ front doors.

“I don’t like the fact that these idiots were joyriding and people were hurting. Doing fishtails on Avenue D in airboats? Come on,” Hughes said. “And they’re out there joyriding. In people’s yards and stuff.”

The mayor said city officials tried to get the Katy Police Department involved to stop the behavior, however there is no law against driving in floodwaters.

“They were going down my street pushing up rooster tails. [In] big old trucks with big tires,” Hughes said. “It just galls me to see people act like that. Instead of being out there trying to help people, they’re out causing problems.”

Katy Police Assistant Chief Tim Tyler said the department received numerous complaints about the joyriders but no police officers witnessed the activity.

“There were some kids in four-wheel drive pickups driving through the floodwaters,” Tyler said. “It’s not against the law, but it’s stupidity.”

Tyler said even if the police were able to find the joyriders, officers would have been unable to pursue them.

“Being there was 2 feet of water on the road, there was nothing we could do,” he said.

If another flood event similar to the April 17-18 storm occurs, Tyler said he hopes that others do not joyride through the high waters.

“We have other things more important to do than worrying about knuckleheads driving around in high water,” he said. “They’re putting themselves at risk as well as first responders.”