After Hurricane Harvey pounded the Texas coast overnight, residents awoke Saturday to survey the damage: downed power lines, fences torn apart, uprooted trees and untold flood damage.Almost 196,000 customers in the Corpus Christi area are without power, the utility company AEP reported. Residents were urged to boil water for drinking and bathing and to avoid flushing toilets. Roads were largely deserted as many had left to seek shelter elsewhere.National Weather Service forecaster Tyler Castillo said Saturday morning that the storm had weakened to a Category 1 and had shifted north over the Victoria area.He said Harvey remained a “big rain threat” as it stalled over the region.The brunt of the storm hit outlying areas, such as Rockport, Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, where officials had ordered a mandatory evacuation. Official landfall of the hurricane was at 10 p.m. Friday between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor.“We recorded 132 mph winds at Port Aransas,” Castillo said.In Rockport, part of the high school and part of a senior citizen housing complex collapsed. A makeshift had been set up at the Rockport city jail but there were no immediate reports of casualties. In Aransas Pass,structures were blowing into the surf.In Port Lavaca, daybreak arrived to howling winds and driving rains — the same as overnight.The waters of Lavaca Bay were being pushed onto the shore by the driving gales that had shifted direction — now coming from the east — but with the same intensity since they started pummeling the largely deserted town late Friday.No loss of life was reported overnight or major incidence of building collapses in preliminary accounts, said Port Lavaca City Manager Robert Bradshaw.“Right now, it looks like there are a lot of trees down and the power is out,” he said.He expects more days of wind and driving rain but was waiting to learn the National Weather Service’s latest forecast at a 10 a.m. video briefing for Coastal Bend officials.“Right now, it’s centered west of Victoria, but it’s supposed to loop back around and come back toward the coast,” Bradshaw said. “It's blowing 40-50 mph winds right now. Last night I’m sure it was 80-90 mph winds.”Calhoun County Judge Mike Pfeifer was out assessing the damage in preparation for the meeting, according to a volunteer who answered the phone in his office.Asked for an assessment of the storm’s impact on the county, the volunteer offered no details but said, “It’s horrible.”President Donald Trump signed a presidential disaster declaration at about 9 p.m. Friday, freeing crucial federal resources for the recovery effort.
After Hurricane Harvey pounded the Texas coast overnight, residents awoke Saturday to survey the damage: downed power lines, fences torn apart, uprooted trees and untold flood damage.
Almost 196,000 customers in the Corpus Christi area are without power, the utility company AEP reported. Residents were urged to boil water for drinking and bathing and to avoid flushing toilets. Roads were largely deserted as many had left to seek shelter elsewhere.
National Weather Service forecaster Tyler Castillo said Saturday morning that the storm had weakened to a Category 1 and had shifted north over the Victoria area.
Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle
Wind and rain remain strong after Hurricane Harvey made landfall at Rockport on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Galveston.
He said Harvey remained a “big rain threat” as it stalled over the region.
The brunt of the storm hit outlying areas, such as Rockport, Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, where officials had ordered a mandatory evacuation. Official landfall of the hurricane was at 10 p.m. Friday between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor.
“We recorded 132 mph winds at Port Aransas,” Castillo said.
In Rockport, part of the high school and part of a senior citizen housing complex collapsed. A makeshift had been set up at the Rockport city jail but there were no immediate reports of casualties. In Aransas Pass,structures were blowing into the surf.
In Port Lavaca, daybreak arrived to howling winds and driving rains — the same as overnight.
The waters of Lavaca Bay were being pushed onto the shore by the driving gales that had shifted direction — now coming from the east — but with the same intensity since they started pummeling the largely deserted town late Friday.
No loss of life was reported overnight or major incidence of building collapses in preliminary accounts, said Port Lavaca City Manager Robert Bradshaw.
“Right now, it looks like there are a lot of trees down and the power is out,” he said.
He expects more days of wind and driving rain but was waiting to learn the National Weather Service’s latest forecast at a 10 a.m. video briefing for Coastal Bend officials.
“Right now, it’s centered west of Victoria, but it’s supposed to loop back around and come back toward the coast,” Bradshaw said. “It's blowing 40-50 mph winds right now. Last night I’m sure it was 80-90 mph winds.”
Calhoun County Judge Mike Pfeifer was out assessing the damage in preparation for the meeting, according to a volunteer who answered the phone in his office.
Asked for an assessment of the storm’s impact on the county, the volunteer offered no details but said, “It’s horrible.”
President Donald Trump signed a presidential disaster declaration at about 9 p.m. Friday, freeing crucial federal resources for the recovery effort.
Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli/Houston Chronicle
The Vieux Carre neighborhood was in the direct path of a tornado spun off from Hurricane Harvey that caused severe damages to homes and trees.
