Hurricane Harvey

By: Colter Chilicas-Yano    Feb. 5, 2018

 

Some of the deadliest natural disasters are the extremely terrifying wind cyclones known as Hurricanes. In 2017, hurricanes were a common occurrence during the year and they affected many people throughout the world. Hurricane Harvey was no exception and destroyed many parts of Texas due to the wind and flooding.

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In mid August of last year, hurricane Harvey officially formed around the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. It began as only a tropical storm on August 17 and was monitored for further growth as time passed. Harvey then grew intensely into a category 4 hurricane. The devastation

was tremendous causing over

125 billion dollars in

damages, the costliest storm

since Katrina hit in 2005.

However, most of the damages

were a result of the insane

amounts of flooding in the

Houston area. Some parts

received more than 40 inches

of water resulting in the

loss of many homes, as well

as the displacement of over

30,000 people. Because of this, 82 people died mostly due to drowning.

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Celebrities and athletes became aware that Texas needed more than just a little help, so many of them created or donated to a funding program to help families recuperate after they lost their homes. JJ Watt, a star player for the NFL Houston Texans managed to raise over $11 million, with celebrities such as Drake and Ellen donating as well. A well-known NBA player named Gerald Green even went down to Houston to help the 17,000 people in need of rescue. Sadly, not everyone is all about donations and rescuing. There were many robberies during the Hurricane that could be pulled off due to the flooding and evacuations.

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After the hurricane, many people still remain displaced. The flooding damaged over 100,000 homes, as many people are still stranded at hotels while they wait for their houses to be rebuilt. It will take close to a year from the time of the event to fully recover from this disaster. The state of Texas has requested for $61 billion in federal disaster assistance but the government has refused to budge on handing over the money as of right now. This leaves the Mayor of Houston as well as many others questioning the thought-process of congress as they allowed for more than $115 billion to be given in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, both equal in cost as far as damage done.

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It is unfortunate that anyone has to experience an event such as this one, but next time people can be even more prepared for any type of unpredictable natural disaster.