“My husband and I were born and raised in Houston, Texas. Back in those days, the population was only 1.6 million folks.”
Because we were situated higher in the west Texas hill country, we were spared the worst of what Hurricane Harvey wrought in cities from Rockport to Beaumont and beyond. Yet, it hit close to home. Those of us who call Texas home know someone afflicted by this natural disaster. It has become very personal to us. This is our state, our families, friends, and neighbors, and our community. Texans are funny like that. In the bigger sense of community, the whole country has rallied behind us as one community of states—the United States.
My husband and I were born and raised in Houston, Texas. Back in those days, the population was only 1.6 million folks. Cotton, corn, and cattle dominated the landscape, and oil/gas was steadily pumping out of the ground!
Over the ensuing decades, Houston has become the fourth largest city in the nation, with almost 6 million residents in the surrounding area. What has happened to Houston and all along the Texas Gulf Coast is catastrophic. It will take a decade or more and billions of dollars to recover. Gov. Greg Abbott warned in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it could take years for Texas to “dig out from this catastrophe.” President Donald Trump tweeted that there’s still “so much to do” in Texas’ recovery.
Economists said the storm shut down everything from plastics plants to oil refineries as well as the Houston port—the second-busiest in the nation—which could affect the nation’s economy. The impact of Hurricane Harvey may very likely cause US consumers to pay more at the pump. With widespread reports of gas shortages, the head of the Texas agency that regulates the oil and gas industry urged drivers to wait three or four days to fill up their tanks.
Panic buying is causing a run on gas and empty fuel pumps, Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton said. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he would release 500,000 barrels of crude oil from an emergency stockpile in a bid to prevent gasoline prices from spiking.
About one-third of all US refining capacity is in Texas’ Gulf Coast. Roughly 25 percent of US oil production from the Gulf of Mexico, accounting for about 20 percent of US crude production, was shut down. All ports along the Texas coast were closed.
Estimates of Hurricane Harvey’s impact on oil production is that anywhere from 1 million to 2.2 million barrels per day of refining capacity are shut down by the storm. In fact, production capacity at that level is what kept global oil prices low. The storm and loss of US refining capacity will affect the global markets so that oil-dependent countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia may find their crude prices rising. The global significance is still unclear until we are able to determine the full extent of damage to the Texas coastal refining capabilities.
About 325,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid in the wake of Harvey.
The flood waters and massive power disruption led to the multiple explosions at the Arkema Inc. plant northeast of Houston. The blast ignited a 30- to 40-foot (9- to 12-meter) flame and sent up a plume of acrid black smoke that stung the eyes and lungs. The blaze burned out many hours later. Emergency crews were forced to hold back because of the danger that eight other trailers containing the same explosive compound, which was now unstable due to lack of refrigeration, would ignite as well. Though the explosion was massive, no serious injuries were reported.
Health experts warned that sewage in the floodwater could make people sick and that mosquito populations could explode in the coming weeks because stagnant water offers abundant breeding grounds.
With temperatures likely to climb back to the low 90s, residents were warned about the dangers of heat exhaustion, especially for people who lost power or must work outdoors.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said more than 37,000 homes were heavily damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed—figures that did not include the tens of thousands of homes with minor damage. About 325,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid in the wake of Harvey. More than $57 million in individual assistance has already been paid out, FEMA officials said.
Harris County FEMA director Tom Fargione said the agency was looking for ways to house people who lost their homes to Harvey, with 32,000 people reported in shelters across Texas. Some evacuees had begun returning to their homes—the George R. Brown Convention Center, where 10,000 people took shelter, housed 8,000 evacuees late Thursday. The priority is to get those who weren’t able to return to their homes into some form of temporary housing, Fargione said.
Fire Chief Sam Pena said his department had responded to nearly 16,000 calls since the storm hit Saturday, over 7,600 of them for water rescues. More than 200 firefighters, police officers, and members of an urban search-and-rescue team fanned out across one southeast Houston neighborhood looking for survivors or bodies. They yelled “Fire department!” as they pounded with closed fists on doors, peered through windows and checked with neighbors.
“We don’t think we’re going to find any humans, but we’re prepared if we do,” said District Chief James Pennington of the Houston Fire Department. Unlike during Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath in New Orleans, crews used GPS devices to log the homes they checked rather than painting neon Xs on the outside. That avoided alerting potential thieves to vacant homes.
The storm brought five straight days of rain totaling close to 52 inches (1.3 meters), the heaviest tropical downpour ever recorded in the continental US.
Mother Nature dealt Texas a cruel blow. We will recover, but we have a very long way to go.
