Caught in eye of the storm
HURRICANE Harvey spun deeper into Texas and unloaded extraordinary amounts of rain at the weekend after the once-fearsome hurricane crashed into vulnerable homes and businesses along the coastline in a blow that killed at least one person and injured up to 14.
Throughout the region between Corpus Christi and Houston, many people feared that toll was only the beginning.
Authorities did not know the full extent of the damage because weather conditions prevented emergency crews getting into the hardest-hit places.
And they dreaded the destruction that was yet to come from a storm that could linger for days and unload more than 100cm of rain on cities, including dangerously flood-prone Houston, the US’s fourth-largest.
In the island community of Port Aransas, population 3800, officials were unable to fully survey the town because of “massive” damage. Police and heavy equipment had only made it into the northernmost street.
“I can tell you I have a very bad feeling and that’s about it,” said Mayor Charles Bujan, who had called for a mandatory evacuation but did not know how many heeded it.
Some of the worst damage appeared to be in Rockport, a coastal city of about 10,000 that was directly in the storm’s path.
The mayor said his community took a blow “right on the nose” that left widespread devastation, including homes, businesses and schools that were heavily damaged. Some structures were destroyed.
Rockport’s roads were a mess of toppled power poles. A trailer blocked much of one major intersection. Wood framing from ripped-apart houses was strewn along Route 35 on the town’s southern end.
Harvey’s relentless wind tore the metal sides off the high school gym and twisted the steel door frame of its auditorium.
“We’re still in the very infancy stage of getting this recovery started,” said Aransas County spokesman Larry Sinclair.
Rockport Mayor Charles “C.J.” Wax told The Weather Channel the city’s emergency response system had been hampered by the loss of mobile phone service and other forms of communication.
A day earlier, Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios offered ominous advice, telling people who chose not to evacuate to mark their arms with permanent markers, implying the marks would make it easier for rescuers to identify them. As many as 14 people suffered minor injuries, including slips, scrapes and a broken leg.
The lone fatality confirmed so far was a person caught in a fire at home during the storm. The victim has not been immediately identified.
About 300,000 customers were without power statewide. Governor Greg Abbott said it would probably be days before electricity was restored.
Meanwhile, the storm slowed to a crawl of only 3km/h and rainfall varied across the region from 8-38cm.
Elsewhere in the storm’s immediate aftermath, Coast Guard helicopters rescued 18 people from boats and barges in distress, said Capt. Tony Hahn, commander of the Corpus Christi sector.
The Corpus Christi port was closed with extensive damage. Because the city was the third-largest petrochemical port in the US, the agency would be on the lookout for spills, Capt. Hahn said.
The fiercest hurricane to hit the US in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 48km northeast of Corpus Christi as a Category 4 storm with 209km/h winds.
Harvey weakened to a tropical storm by noon Saturday. At 6pm, its maximum sustained winds had fallen to about 96km/h.
Harvey is the strongest to strike Texas since 1961’s Hurricane Carla, the state’s most powerful hurricane on record. The storm’s approach sent tens of thousands of people fleeing inland.