Hurricane Harvey Assaults Coast, Then Batters Inland Counties

AUSTIN — Hurricane Harvey slammed the middle Texas coast on Aug. 25, hammering the region from Rockport to Palacios before continuing inland as a tropical storm and causing widespread catastrophic flooding.

With wind speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour before landfall at Rockport, the National Hurricane Center in Miami gave the storm a rating of Category 4. As rains and flooding worsened, Harvey was widely reportedly to be the strongest hurricane to hit Texas since Carla in 1961.

Before the storm hit, Gov. Greg Abbott requested and received a presidential disaster declaration, receiving approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The declaration cleared the way for individual assistance, public assistance and hazard mitigation to communities in affected counties, where high winds, torrential rains, flooding, tornadoes, power outages and more weatherrelated troubles affected millions of Texans.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Fayette%20County%20RecordID96/