In Harvey’s wake: smashed homes, businesses and heavy rain
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them.
The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi as a mammoth Category 4 storm with 130 mph (209 kph) winds. It weakened overnight to Category 1 and then to a tropical storm.
But the system’s most destructive powers were just beginning. Rainfall that will continue for days could dump more than 40 inches of water and inundate many communities, including dangerously flood-prone Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city.
“Our focus is shifting to the extreme and potentially historic levels of flooding that we could see,” said Eric Blake, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
No deaths were immediately reported. High winds kept emergency crews out of many places, and authorities said it could be hours before emergency teams are able to fully assess damage.
By dawn, nearly 300,000 consumers were without power in the coastal region, and nearly 20 inches (0.5 meters) of rain had fallen in some places.
The mayor of Rockport, a coastal city of about 10,000 that was directly in the storm’s path, said his community took a blow “right on the nose” that left “widespread devastation,” including homes, businesses and schools that were heavily damaged. Some structures were destroyed.
Mayor Charles “C.J.” Wax told The Weather Channel that the city’s emergency response system had been hampered by the loss of cellphone service and other forms of communication.
About 10 people were taken to the county jail for treatment after the roof of a senior housing complex collapsed, television station KIII reported.
On Friday, Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios offered ominous advice, telling the station that people who chose not to evacuate should mark their arm with a Sharpie pen, implying that the marks would make it easier for rescuers to identify them.
In the storm’s immediate aftermath, the Coast Guard sent two helicopters to try to rescue the crews of three tugboats reported in distress in a channel near Port Aransas. And about 4,500 inmates were evacuated from three state prisons in Brazoria County south of Houston because the nearby Brazos River was rising.
By early afternoon, Harvey had weakened to a tropical storm. Its maximum sustained winds had fallen to about 70 mph (113 kph), and the storm was centered about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio. It was moving north at 2 mph (3 kph), the hurricane center said.
The hurricane posed the first major emergency management test of President Donald Trump’s administration. The president signed a federal disaster declaration for coastal counties Friday night.
Trump commended the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for his handling of the storm.
In a tweet Saturday morning addressed to FEMA head Brock Long, Trump said: “You are doing a great job — the world is watching! Be safe.”
In a separate tweet, Trump said he is monitoring the hurricane closely from Camp David. “We are leaving nothing to chance. City, State and Federal Govs. working great together!”
The president also tweeted, “We have fantastic people on the ground, got there long before #Harvey. So far, so good!”
In Corpus Christi, the major city closest to the storm’s center, wind whipped palm trees and stinging sheets of horizontal rain slapped against hotels and office buildings along the seawall as the storm made landfall.
Daybreak revealed downed lamp posts and tree limbs and roof tiles torn off buildings. The city’s marina was nearly unscathed, save an awning ripped from a restaurant entrance and a wooden garbage bin uprooted and thrown.
Along Interstate 45 leaving Galveston, motorists had to stop under bridges to avoid driving in whiteout conditions.
In Houston, rain fell at nearly 3 inches (76.2 millimeters) an hour, leaving some streets and underpasses underwater. The many drainage channels known as bayous that carry excess water to the Gulf were rising.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, the chief administrator of the county that includes the city of 2.3 million, said flooding so far was a “minor issue,” but warned that “we’re not out of this.”
Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Harvey grew rapidly, accelerating from a Category 1 early Friday morning to a Category 4 by evening. Its transformation from an ordinary storm to a life-threatening behemoth took only 56 hours, an incredibly fast intensification.
Harvey came ashore as the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961’s Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.
The storm’s approach sent tens of thousands of people fleeing inland. Families who escaped Rockport were worried about neighbors and whether their homes are still standing.
Johanna Cochran was panicking over whether her house or the McDonald’s where she works survived the storm. She and her boyfriend evacuated to a San Antonio shelter.
Another Rockport resident, Pamela Montes, said she knew many people who stayed behind because “no one felt like it was going to hit.”
Just hours before the projected landfall, the governor and Houston leaders issued conflicting statements on evacuation.
Gov. Greg Abbott urged more people to flee, but Houston authorities recommended no widespread evacuations, citing greater danger in having people on roads that could flood and the fact that the hurricane was not taking direct aim at the city.
The last Category 4 storm to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Charley in August 2004 in Florida. Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey in 2012, never had the high winds and had lost tropical status by the time it struck. But it was devastating without formally being called a major hurricane.
Harvey is the first significant hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 110 mph (177 kph) to the Galveston and Houston areas, inflicting $22 billion in damage.
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Associated Press writers Michael Graczyk, Juan Lozano and Nomaan Merchant in Houston; Seth Borenstein and Catherine Lucey in Washington; Tammy Webber in Chicago; David Phillip in Dickinson, Texas; and Diana Heidgerd, Jamie Stengle, David Warren, Claudia Lauer and Terry Wallace in Dallas contributed to this report.
Heavy damage to houses in Rockport. (AFP/Getty Images)
Jennifer Bryant looks over the debris from her family business destroyed by Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Henry Isaac cuts down broken tree limbs after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Fishermen walk along a pier as the early bands of Hurricane Harvey make landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Rain is blown past palm trees as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A tree blocks a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner /Austin American-Statesman via AP)
An oil refinery’s lights illuminate rainfall as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A basketball hoop lays in pieces as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A power pole lays in the middle of a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A Valero oil refinery’s flare continues to burn as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A damaged stop light blocks a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Shoes tied to a power line hang near a street after winds from Hurricane Harvey brought down a power pole in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A street sits empty as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Victoria County Sheriff’s deputies bring supplies into the The Victoria Tax Office in downtown Victoria, Texas, in order to prepare for Hurricane Harvey making landfall on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (Nicolas Galindo/The Victoria Advocate via AP)
Fallen bricks from a home damaged by Hurricane Harvey sit on the ground Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
An overturned trailer sits in a park in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A laundromat’s machines sit exposed in the elements after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Jennifer Bryant looks over the debris where her family business once stood in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Debris is scattered from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Miguel Debernardis cleans up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Rockport-Fulton high school gymnasium walls expose the interior after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A boat sits in a driveway with debris strewn around it after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits lodged in trees after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A road remains flooded after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, onSaturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits on its side after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A boat sits capsized in the Rockport marina after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A laundromat’s machines sit exposed in the elements after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
The Rockport-Fulton high school gymnasium scoreboard lays on the ground after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on SSaturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A vehicle drives through flooded roads after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Debris is strewn all over after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits on its side after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A man in a wheel chair, who did not wish to be identified, leaves evacuation shelter from hurricane Harvey in San Antonio Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Victor Garza helps remove a van from flood water left by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A drives moves through flood waters left behind by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Power company workers repair damaged power lines damages from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Carlton Cummins of Rockport, Texas, talks about his evacuation from hurricane Harvey while outside a shelter in San Antonio Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Cummins and his family spent the night inland away from where Harvey rolled ashore. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Wires are exposed after a traffic signal was snapped by the winds of Hurricane Harvey in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A traffic signal topped by the winds of Hurricane Harvey lies in an intersection of downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Ripped sails of boats whip in the wind, damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A resident, who wished not to be identified, carries a torn gutter while cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A fishing boat is left partial submerged after Hurricane Harvey swept through the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A contractor walks over debris from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Henry Isaac removes broken tree limbs after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Abel Carreno cleans up after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A truck in flood waters passes a home damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A road remains flooded after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, onSaturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits on its side after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A boat sits capsized in the Rockport marina after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A laundromat’s machines sit exposed in the elements after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
The Rockport-Fulton high school gymnasium scoreboard lays on the ground after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on SSaturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A vehicle drives through flooded roads after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Debris is strewn all over after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits on its side after Hurricane Harvey ripped through in Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A man in a wheel chair, who did not wish to be identified, leaves evacuation shelter from hurricane Harvey in San Antonio Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Victor Garza helps remove a van from flood water left by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A drives moves through flood waters left behind by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Power company workers repair damaged power lines damages from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Carlton Cummins of Rockport, Texas, talks about his evacuation from hurricane Harvey while outside a shelter in San Antonio Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Cummins and his family spent the night inland away from where Harvey rolled ashore. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Wires are exposed after a traffic signal was snapped by the winds of Hurricane Harvey in downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A traffic signal topped by the winds of Hurricane Harvey lies in an intersection of downtown Corpus Christi, Texas, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Ripped sails of boats whip in the wind, damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A resident, who wished not to be identified, carries a torn gutter while cleaning up after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A fishing boat is left partial submerged after Hurricane Harvey swept through the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey has been further downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it churns slowly inland from the Texas Gulf Coast, already depositing more than 9 inches of rain in South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A contractor walks over debris from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Henry Isaac removes broken tree limbs after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Abel Carreno cleans up after Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
A truck in flood waters passes a home damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Heavy damage to houses in Rockport. (AFP/Getty Images)
Fishermen walk along a pier as the early bands of Hurricane Harvey make landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years.(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Rain is blown past palm trees as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey intensified into a hurricane Thursday and steered for the Texas coast with the potential for up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds and 12-foot storm surges in what could be the fiercest hurricane to hit the United States in almost a dozen years. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A tree blocks a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner /Austin American-Statesman via AP)
An oil refinery’s lights illuminate rainfall as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A basketball hoop lays in pieces as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A power pole lays in the middle of a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A Valero oil refinery’s flare continues to burn as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A damaged stop light blocks a street as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Shoes tied to a power line hang near a street after winds from Hurricane Harvey brought down a power pole in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A street sits empty as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Victoria County Sheriff’s deputies bring supplies into the The Victoria Tax Office in downtown Victoria, Texas, in order to prepare for Hurricane Harvey making landfall on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (Nicolas Galindo/The Victoria Advocate via AP)
Fallen bricks from a home damaged by Hurricane Harvey sit on the ground Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Missouri City, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
An overturned trailer sits in a park in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A laundromat’s machines sit exposed in the elements after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges â walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Jennifer Bryant looks over the debris where her family business once stood in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Debris is scattered from Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Miguel Debernardis cleans up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Rockport-Fulton high school gymnasium walls expose the interior after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A boat sits in a driveway with debris strewn around it after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
A trailer home sits lodged in trees after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Rockport, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade spun across hundreds of miles of coastline where communities had prepared for life-threatening storm surges, walls of water rushing inland. (Nick Wanger/Austin American-Statesman via AP)