At least two dead as Harvey slams the coast of Texas
Authorities still don’t know full scope of damage due to poor weather
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas that was yet to come from a — Hurricane Harvey spun storm that could linger for deeper into Texas and unloaded days and unload more than extraordinary amounts of 100 centimeters of rain on cities, rain on Saturday after the including dangerously once-fearsome hurricane flood-prone Houston, the crashed into vulnerable nation’s fourth-largest. homes and businesses along In the island community of the coastline in a blow that Port Aransas, population killed at least two people and 3,800, officials were unable to injured up to 14. fully survey the town because
Throughout the region of “massive” damage. Police between Corpus Christi and and heavy equipment had Houston, many people feared only made it into the northernmost that the toll was only the street. beginning. Authorities did “I can tell you I have a very not know the full scope of bad feeling and that’s about damage because weather it,” said Mayor Charles Bujan, conditions prevented emergency who had called for a mandatory crews from getting into evacuation but did not the hardest-hit places. And know how many heeded the they dreaded the destruction order.
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 that the city’s emergency response system had been hampered by the loss of cellphone service and other forms of communication.
Ominous advice
Aransas County when in a fire at home during the storm, county Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills Jr. said. A second person died in flooding in Harris County, where Houston is located.
Gary Norman, a spokesman for the Houston emergency operations center, said late on Saturday that the person was a woman who appeared to have gotten out of her vehicle in high water, though authorities had not confirmed a cause of death. She was found by neighbors about 30 meters away from her vehicle, and Norman said she was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor who was in the area.
Mills also said as many as 14 people suffered minor injuries in his county, including slips and falls, scrapes and a broken leg.
About 300,000 customers were without power statewide. Governor Greg Abbott said it would probably be several days before electricity is restored.
Meanwhile, the storm was barely moving. Rainfall totals varied across the region, with Corpus Christi and Galveston receiving around 8 centimeters, Houston 18 centimeters and Aransas 25 centimeters. Tiny Austwell got 38 centimeters.
In Houston, authorities were pleading with people not to leave their homes as a flood emergency was declared.
“The streets are treacherous,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.