Looking Back on Harvey: The Two Year Anniversary
On August 25th, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall and changed the lives of those living in Rockport, Texas forever. Two years later, our community is still picking up the pieces from this terrifying category 4 hurricane. Homes were ruined, local schools were damaged and many families that fled were left not knowing what they would come back to. But today, we are reminded that the small victories are extremely important for our city and South Texas to see. Just a month ago, Mustang Island State Park reopened for camping since Harvey and just last week, Rockport-Fulton had a groundbreaking for the new Fulton fishing pier with Governor Greg Abbott in attendance. Small victories such as this remind us that there is progress being made and hope to be had for the rebuilding of our cities, Rockport and Fulton.
For those of you who do not know the statistics about Hurricane Harvey, this 2017 hurricane was the second strongest and second most expensive hurricane to ever hit the United States, except Hurricane Katrina! Hurricane Harvey was the first major hurricane to strike South Texas since Hurricane Celia in 1970. Winds reached as high as 150 mph and Port Aransas and Rockport were caught in the worst of it. After Harvey, federal agencies estimated that 35,000 structures were damaged.
For the folks that had insurance, a sense of hope was left after the storm. Hope that insurance would step in and save the day for all the damages done by Harvey; however, this was not the case. Many locals still have not received reimbursements on their homes, businesses and vehicles from the extensive wind and water damage. While the citizens of Rockport are still trying to get back on their feet, many business owners are struggling because the entire city’s source of revenue was nonexistent for a little while because tourist had no place to stay and no local restaurants to dine in.
Insurance has been an unexpected bump in the road to recovery that has also pushed back the necessary repairs to businesses and homes. Now Rockport citizens are dealing with mold issues. Not only do their homes not have roofs or still have tremendous damages, the water damages are adding an additional road bump in the process. However, Mayor of Rockport, Patrick Rios is keeping an optimistic and positive outlook on the road to recovery. While the town might not be back to normal, Rios comments that Rockport will look better than ever in a few short years. We must remind ourselves that the finished product doesn’t just happen overnight.
But one thing is for sure, Harvey didn’t win. Even with all the destruction, the financial burdens and the constant back and forth between insurance, our city of Rockport is slowly, but surely making a comeback. If you were unsure of what Texas is all about, Harvey sure did show you. Businesses, churches, nonprofits and people from all over organized clean-up days, shelters, donations and meals for people in the Rockport area. In addition to the physical help Rockport received, people also chipped in financially to help the city of Rockport in a tremendous way! In January 2019, Ellen DeGeneres from The Ellen Show donated $1 million to rebuild Rockport-Fulton High School’s gymnasium that was left destroyed after Harvey. With school in session for the 2019-2020 school year, the city of Rockport hopes to complete the gym in just a few short weeks.
Harvey didn’t just show us hospitality, Harvey showed us what it means to truly love your neighbor and put others before yourself. Rockport might have been hit the hardest in the Coastal Bend, but thankfully these folks didn’t have to walk alone. The city of Rockport and Fulton has been showered with so much love over the past two years and we know they would do the same for the rest of South Texas in a heartbeat. So as we are reminded of the devastation that came with Hurricane Harvey, let’s focus on the foundation these cities are building on: love. So what makes Rockport and the bordering cities so special? Is it the tourism? Is it the views on the water? No, the people are what makes Rockport, Texas so special!
Swing on by Howdy RV! We would love to talk with you about your Harvey experience and the good you were able to see in others through this. We are located off of I-37 in between Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Texas. We are more than just an RV Dealership, we are the people that trudged through mud, hauled tree branches and fought the mosquitoes to help out. We are so proud to be apart of a community of people who genuinely care.