For small towns along Texas’ Gulf Coast, Hurricane Harvey was a catastrophic wind event that was largely ignored as national media focused on record-breaking flooding in Houston. Harvey made landfall Aug. 25 near Port Aransas as a Category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 140 mph. Port Aransas, Aransas Pass and Rockport still have years to go before their communities are made whole.
“We are still in recovery mode,” says Colton Wood, director of disaster recovery operations for Broaddus & Associates, which is working as program manager for the city of Port Aransas and construction manager at risk for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.