Once called the “Toast of the Texas Coast,” Rockport now lies in ruins with nearly 60 percent of the town either destroyed or rendered totally unusable by Hurricane Harvey.
Rockport Mayor Charles Wax told Fox News 35 percent of the buildings in his town of 10,645 people were completely destroyed by the Category 5 hurricane that roared through just over one week ago. “We’re getting better every day,” Mayor Wax said while choking back tears. “We still don’t have any water, sanitary sewer, or electricity. But we have a lot of food outlets that are providing food to my people during the day, and I am talking to you on a cell phone.” Cellular service has been out since Harvey stormed through on August 25.
“We had Texas Task Force 1 that was sent down here by Governor Abbott, and they were here practically before the storm left,” Wax explained. “They have physically touched every structure in this county. Their report, turned into our emergency operations center, they estimate 35 percent of the community is completely destroyed. Of the remaining 65 percent, another 30 to 35 percent of that will never be occupied again.” He said those structures will have to be bulldozed and rebuilt before they can be utilized.
“As of right now, even with a Category 4 storm hitting us right on the front porch we have a total of two of our citizens that we lost,” the mayor explained. “That’s all. So we count our blessings every day.
The mayor asked that his community be included in the National Day of Prayer set up for Sunday by President Donald Trump. The city has also established a GoFundMe page where people can make donations to help Rockport residents.
Vice President Mike Pence visited Rockport on Thursday and toured the ravaged community. Breitbart News reported. After helping some residents remove debris from their home, Pence said, “President Trump sent us here to say we are with you. The American people are with you. We are here today. We will be here tomorrow, and we will be here every day until this city and this state and this region rebuild bigger and better than ever before.”
Follow complete coverage of Hurricane Harvey and Houston Floods on Breitbart Texas.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Gab, and Facebook.