Hurricane Harvey Research Paper

Over the past decade, the world has experienced more natural disaster than people can count. Floods, mudslides, earthquakes, and raging fires are just a few of the events that have stripped people away from their families, homes, and possessions. The deadliest of these natural disasters are hurricanes. Extremely strong winds mixed with large waves can cause enormous damage, taking months, even years for towns to recover. Hurricane Katrina left millions of people without homes and families torn apart. Hurricane Sandy demolished the Jersey coast, leaving years of repair work behind. The most recent and powerful hurricane that surfaced is Hurricane Maria. A level five hurricane, Hurricane Maria ripped straight through the United States territory of Puerto Rico. The island lost power, supplies

My experience during hurricane Harvey was mostly calm. I was very fortunate because, my house did not flood. The water only got up to the edge of my driveway, and that was as it was pouring off into the storm drain. I drove to Walmart to buy some extra cases of water, in case the faucet water became undrinkable. When I got there 100’s people were in line with cases of water, and when I checked the aisle there were none left. I was irritated, but also hoping there would be bread to buy. When I checked for bread, I flipped the store cart and walked out, and now I had to drive to Kroger. Kroger had both bread and water, I was so relieved that I didn’t have to drive to H-E-B, I wanted to do a backflip, but I would’ve most likely broken my neck.

August 25, 2017 Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas with absolute power. It was originally predicted that it would not surpass category 1, the elements combined and made Harvey extremely vicious. It hit the most populated areas on the United States becoming one of the most destructive. People did not have enough time to properly prepare for the unpredicted devastation ahead. However, the government and the people responded with strong efforts. Let’s start with the federal department. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (which is referred to as FEMA), with its government accomplices mobilized a work force and with many assets to help states affected. About 21,000 government assets were sent to help out during the vicious Tropical Storm. A lot of people sought refuge during the storm and the Federal government gave them many places to stay for example many government owned sites were converted refuge sites for the victims. The U.S coast guard played a huge role to aid victims. Thousands of coast guards were deployed in support of the relief efforts. They evacuated victims through government transport such as helicopters and big vehicles that could travel through the flooding. They are also opened various docks and waterways within Brownsville, Kentucky without any restrictions to the public. FEMA provided thousands of meals, medical and household items. Fema also paid rent for the victim’s short-term housing. Other ongoing Federal

(Ref. 4) On April 28, 2009 Houston, TX experience yet another flood and it was caused by the aftermath of a Tornado. People, houses, vehicles and roads were affected. Many people had to rescued and cars along with ambulances were submerged under water. Highways were forced to be closed and people were captured canoeing or walking to get to places due to high waters in the area. In just 24 hours about nine inches of rain were being reported in areas in Houston.

Because of this hurricane, people are being forced out of their homes, left with no food, left with nothing, and being forced to see this natural disaster thrash at their city. Not only will this hurricane affect the people in Houston and south Texas, but it will also affect those across the nation who have loved ones going through this tragedy. This event is important because lives have been lost and many people are losing many of their possessions. This hurricane is bringing devastation to people in this county, who just a few days ago were living

“When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm,” (“Bush”). This is what former president George W. Bush said during his speech in New Orleans concerning the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was a massive natural disaster that consisted of high powered winds and immense amounts of water. The hurricane was initially a category 3, but gradually rose to the classification of a category 5 storm, which is the largest storm there is (“Hurricane Irene”). In fact, there were accounts of winds recorded at about 127 miles per hour in the Gulf areas such as Grand Isle, Louisiana, and near the Mississippi River (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics”). All of these factors are made

Harvey known as an apocalyptic storm for many Houstonian’s who have described the scenery and event for that weekend. Many homes, businesses, and schools destroyed causing it to be one of the biggest recovery mission in the nation. A big flare of controversy between the government and the state happened as well. Even with many homes lost and so much sadness spread across south Texas and Houston many texans came together as one.

Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29th, 2005. The events that followed would leave the whole nation in shock until this day. One of the major topics of discussion after this disaster was whether or not the government's slow reaction time had anything to do with the fact that New Orleans is sixty-seven percent African American. As helicopters circled a wasteland that was once a major tourist attraction, the racism of the Deep South, thought to be extinct, proved it was only dormant. The same racism against African Americans that could be seen on Bourbon Street in the months prior to the hurricane reared its ugly head once more in Gretna, LA and was pointed out on live television by rapper Kanye West.

On April 18, 2016 Yahoo reports Houston, Texas have flooding that forces residents to move out their homes and live in a nearby shelter. The flooding causes damage to the electricity lines, foreclosures of freeways, and forcing schools to close down because of the weather. One million students got the day off including workers. It’s deeply saddened that five victims were dead in this weather. There is over 450 water rescue and victims were transported to the mall to shelter away until the storm passes. It’s hard for people to drive in the freeway because the water can be up to 15 feet deep. The weather causes frustration toward the Houston resident.

The New York Times writers explains all the events happening during Harvey’s next landfall in “Harvey Live Updates: Trump Heads to a Flooded Texas”. In case you’ve been living underneath a construction site for your whole life, Harvey made hard landfalls in Corpus Christi and Houston, TX along with other cities in Texas. With hundreds of thousands of people under evacuation orders, shelters in Houston filled to bursting with people who craved some news about the safety of their loved ones and the state of their homes. Parts of the Houston area set a record for rainfall from a single storm anywhere in the continental United States, with a top reading on Tuesday afternoon, since the storm began, of 51.88 inches. Jeffrey Lindner, a meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District, said 25 to 30 percent of Harris County's 1,800 square miles of land was flooded.

Hurricane Harvey had and environmental. Economic, social and political impact on the city of Houston as well as the state of Texas.

Follow FEMA's advice and do not be afraid to hang up on cold callers purporting to be insurance agents, government officials, or charitable organization.

As a Houston based law firm with deep ties to the community, we have been devastated to witness the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey. While the stories of heroic rescues and the kindness of strangers make us beam with pride at the magnanimity of our great City, we grieve over the unimaginable toll this hurricane has already taken on our friends, clients, neighbors, and colleagues.

Hurricane Harvey was the only major hurricane to hit Texas since 2005, which was Hurricane Wilma. Estimates were put at as much as about 75 billion dollars worth of destruction.That is a lot of damage! Hurricane Harvey dropped about 40-52 inches of rain. Harvey was a category 4 hurricane with a diameter of 280 miles, and had wind speeds up to 130 mph during its first landfall. This was the longest lasting hurricane in Texas ever to happen. About 30,000 people are needing temporary shelter. Although this hurricane did a lot of damage, it didn’t kill to many people. Hurricane Harvey’s killed a total of 82 people. Harvey was truly one of the worst hurricanes to hit hit Texas, and definitely one of the worst to hit America!

If your property and personal effects have been damaged in a hurricane it can be very difficult to recover damages if you do not have flood insurance (See, e.g., Broussard v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 523 F. 3d 618 [5th Cir. 2008]). Unfortunately, recent reporting by The Washington Post and USA Today indicates that many of those affected by Hurricane Harvey lack the insurance they need to recover for their damages. For those who find themselves in this situation, here are some other forms of assistance that may be available: