This week at CCMB, we are reflecting, remembering, and sharing stories about where we were one year ago when the devastating storm we call Harvey hit landfall on August 25, 2017. We are overwhelmed, humbled, and proud to be a part of the Coastal Bend and a community that has proven over and over again, this past year in particular, what it means to be Texas Strong!
Paulina…
Last year when Hurricane Harvey hit we had been living in Corpus for only 6 months. Our business, which is heavily dependent on good weather, was just picking up. I remember we started getting cancellation calls early in the week. We don’t watch the news and as new Corpus Christians we were oblivious to what hurricane season really meant. I can’t remember if it was Thursday or Friday when my husband walked in and announced, “pack up, we’re getting out of here!”. Our neighbor is in the Coast Guard and he was having his family evacuate to the Austin area so Bruce decided it was a good idea to follow their advice. I didn’t really have time to panic. We packed up the car. I grabbed all our important documents and a few irreplaceable things with sentimental value. Mainly things that belonged to our baby in Heaven.
I remember packing up and thinking, “I have no idea what we are coming back to! What if our house gets destroyed? What if we lose it all? What if…?”. My head was spinning.
We got in the car and my husband in our Bus (our business) and we drove away. We spent the weekend in Austin. Once there we decided to make the best of it and enjoy our forced “mini vacation” which is what the boys were calling it. It was a pretty stressful time, especially because we were spending all this money but were not sure when we were going to be able to make more. We were thankful, however, when we got back and found our house intact. It was also bittersweet to not only hear about but witness all the destruction. I had never seen anything like it, it was an eyeopener for sure. Quite the experience!
Tracie…
We had only lived in Corpus for seven months when Harvey hit. Growing up in Fort Worth and then spending fifteen years in Austin, we had zero experience with hurricanes. My husband kept going back and forth that Thursday on if we should stay or go…it was driving me NUTS. I like to have a definitive plan and take action. After speaking with some locals who had experienced storms in the past, he decided we would stay and “wait it out.”
I headed to HEB to load up on supplies…flashlights, candles, snacks, and LOTS of wine. Holy. WOW. HEB was a total zoo.
They were already out of bread! I started loading my cart, realizing about ten minutes in, I had been grabbing things that needed to be refrigerated and/or frozen. I totally forgot that we would probably have no electricity. When I was leaving the store, I noticed they were boarding up the windows. That kind of freaked me out. I called my husband to make sure we were making the right choice. We were renting a home in the Bay Area that had survived every storm thus far…he was still thinking we would be ok. Fast forward to around 7:00 pm when he walked through the door and said, “I think we need to go.” So, while I frantically packed bags, tried to find us a hotel that had a room AND would take a 70 pound lab, my husband and one of his co-workers boarded up the windows. We pulled out around 9:00 pm and headed to San Antonio. I had found a hotel that would take us and the dog. We were in the process of buying a house on the south side of town but had not closed on it yet.
I remember being on Highway 37 and tears started flowing.
What would we go home, too? Would all our stuff be gone?
I had memories of the footage of Katrina and people talking about seeing dead bodies floating down the street. Is that what this would be like? The fear of the unknown had me shaken to the core.
We spent one night in San Antonio and then went on to Fort Worth to see our family. My husband was anxious to get back and check on the business so we headed home that Sunday. We saw a lot of debris on the roads heading back in…trees and signs were down. Fences were blown over. Our rental was fine. There were some tree branches and shingles in the yard but that was it. We drove by our new home and fortunately, it was ok, too. I feel extremely lucky and know that many others did not fair as well. Even though our house was fine, I’m glad we left. I realize some people don’t have that option and are forced to stay. I feel better knowing that we have “one under our belt” and will have a better (more definitive) plan in motion next time!
Tell us Coastal Bend friends: how are you and your families recovering one year later? We will continue sharing our stories this week – but would love to hear from you! We know that our readers are Texas Strong so let’s continue to support each other! Leave us a comment on the blog or on Facebook.