Made landfall near Rockport. Stalled and dropped record rainfall over Houston. $125B in damage.
Made landfall at Galveston. Catastrophic surge. 6th costliest U.S. hurricane.
Made landfall near Beaumont. Caused massive evacuation of Houston.
Deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Killed 6,000–12,000 people.
Know your evacuation route — I-45 and I-10 are primary evacuation corridors from the Houston area.
Prepare for extreme flooding — Harvey showed that inland areas far from the coast can flood catastrophically.
Have flood insurance even if you are not in a flood zone — Harvey flooded thousands of homes outside mapped flood zones.
Prepare for extended power outages — the Houston area has experienced multi-week outages after major storms.
Have a plan for the heat — Texas summer heat without air conditioning is a medical emergency.
Texas hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. The peak is August through October. Texas is most vulnerable to Gulf of Mexico storms, which can intensify rapidly before reaching the Texas coast.
The upper Texas Gulf Coast — Galveston, Houston, Beaumont, and Port Arthur — is historically most impacted. Galveston Island is particularly vulnerable to storm surge. However, Harvey showed that inland areas like Houston can experience catastrophic flooding from stalled storms.
Apply for FEMA individual assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Also apply for an SBA disaster loan — even if you don't want a loan, applying may be required for certain FEMA grants. Contact the Texas General Land Office for long-term housing recovery programs.
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