Harvey Recovery Ongoing as 2019 Hurricane Season Begins

Early forecasts for the 2019 U.S. Atlantic hurricane season anticipate the period will be an “average” one. Hurricane season officially runs June 1 through November 30, however, the first named storm of the season — Andrea — formed in the North Atlantic on May 20.

This is the fifth consecutive year that a named storm has formed in the North Atlantic before the hurricane season start date, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A June 4 forecast by Colorado State University atmospheric scientist Dr. Phil Klotzbach and his team shows the possibility of 14 named storms (including subtropical storm Andrea), six hurricanes, and two major hurricanes in 2019. A typical year would include 12 named storms, six hurricanes, and three major hurricanes, the forecast says.

Last year’s hurricane season was a relatively quiet one for the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana and Texas, with major U.S. storm systems such as Hurricanes Michael and Florence staying well to the east, impacting Florida and the Carolinas. Michael struck the Florida panhandle as a Category 4 storm and Florence brought catastrophic flooding to parts of North and South Carolina.

The same can’t be said for 2017, due to Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Texas coast in late August that year. As a whole, the U.S. 2017 hurricane season was record-breaking, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.), which notes that “17 tropical storms formed in the Atlantic Basin, with 10 of these becoming hurricanes. Six hurricanes became major storms, Category 3 and above — Harvey, Irma, Jose, Lee, Maria and Ophelia.”

Harvey made landfall as Cat 4 hurricane near Rockport, Texas, where its 130 mile per hour winds caused extensive damage. As it moved eastward along the coast toward Louisiana, the storm produced large areas of extreme rainfall amounts that caused historic flooding in Houston and surrounding areas.

“More than 30 inches of rainfall fell on 6.9 million people, while 1.25 million experienced over 45 inches and 11,000 had over 50 inches, based on 7-day rainfall totals ending August 31. This historic U.S. rainfall caused massive flooding that displaced over 30,000 people and damaged or destroyed over 200,000 homes and businesses,” according to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Total damage costs resulting from Hurricane Harvey are estimated at more than $125 billion; the storm was responsible for 89 deaths, NOAA reported.

Homes, vehicles and businesses in more than 50 Texas counties were swamped by Harvey’s catastrophic flooding, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. An estimated 250,000 vehicles were flooded; insured auto losses rose to $3.5 billion, ICT reported.

The I.I.I. pegged Harvey’s total insured losses at an estimated $16 billion and $19 billion (not counting flood losses covered by the National Flood Insurance Program), making it the fifth costliest hurricane to hit the US.

While Houston, Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana bore the brunt of Harvey’s historic and unprecedented flooding, the small coastal towns near where the storm made landfall in Aransas County were devastated by Harvey’s hurricane force winds.

Nearly two years later, communities like Rockport, Fulton and Port Aransas have made headway but full recovery remains elusive.

Most retailers in the popular beach town of Port Aransas have reopened, according to media reports. But lodging still lags in the community, which is heavily dependent on tourism.

The Associated Press reported 90% of Port Aransas restaurants and retailers have reopened, but only 60% of the lodging has returned.

The Aransas County Long Term Recovery Plan notes that Harvey was the first Cat 4 hurricane to make landfall in the county. Residential damage in Aransas County ultimately totaled around $812 million and business losses came in at around $134 million.

According to a March 2019 survey of businesses conducted by the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, most county businesses suffered extensive property damage from Harvey and 10 percent were nearly destroyed.

Only about one in four businesses had a recovery plan pre-Harvey and more than half don’t have one today, the survey found.

At the time of the survey, more than 93 percent of Harvey-impacted businesses had reopened. However, most businesses reported they continue to struggle with falling sales, fewer customers and staffing challenges.

Most respondents believe it will be 2021 before they experience full recovery, the survey found.