Harvey Crushed Houston

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Houston lies in Harris County. Its Flood Control District meteorologist Jeff Lindner reported that a foot and a half of water covered 70 percent of the 1,800-square-mile county. The shear weight of the water depressed the Earth's crust. Houston sank 2 centimeters as a result.

The Facts on Hurricane Harvey's Damage

As of September 5, 2017, Hurricane Harvey damaged 203,000 homes, of which 12,700 were destroyed. There were 507,000 people who registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency delivered 80 tractor-trailer loads of emergency supplies.

There were 37,000 people in shelters in Texas and 2,000 in Louisiana. Almost 7,000 people were in the George R. Brown Convention Center, where 1,700 received medical treatment. FEMA moved 14,900 in temporary housing. As of the first day of September, 8,000 families had moved into 9,000 hotels rooms. (Source: “Harvey Floods Tennessee, Kentucky as Hurricane Irma Spins up the Atlantic,” USA Today, September 1, 2017.)

Federal forces rescued 10,000 people who were trapped in their homes or on flooded highways. A flotilla of private boats rescued an unknown number of additional victims. The Houston Police Department's Dive Team rescued 3,000 people in four days. Houston police officer Austin Huckabee said he and four other officers saved 40 people in the first 24 hours. (Source: "Hurricane Harvey Death Toll Hits 70," NBC News Dallas Ft. Worth, September 9, 2017. “Hurricane Harvey Wreaks Historic Devastation: By the Numbers,” ABC News, August 31, 2017.)

Houston’s school district said 75 of its 275 schools were closed due to flood damage. The district is the nation’s seventh largest. (Source: “Houston Quickens Pace of Harvey Recovery as New Storm Threatens United States,” Reuters,

The highest storm surge was 12.5 feet in Aransas County. It did not create a lot of damage to humans or property because it occurred in a wildlife refuge. (Source: "Hurricane Harvey Death Toll Hits 70," NBC News Dallas Ft. Worth, September 9, 2017.)

In the Gulf area, 1 million vehicles were ruined beyond repair, according to auto data firm Black Book. That includes 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles owned by individuals. (Source: “Harvey May Have Wrecked 1 Million Cars and Trucks," USA Today, August 31, 2017.

Harvey flooded 800 wastewater treatment facilities and 13 Superfund sites. That spread sewage and toxic chemicals into the flooded areas. (Source: "Texas Faces Environmental Concerns as Wastewater, Drinking Water Systems Compromised," The Washington Post, September 3, 2017.)

Harvey's impact spread across the country as gas prices rise. Harvey forced 25 percent of oil and gas production to shut down in the region. That affects 5 percent of nationwide output. U.S. average gas prices rose from $2.35 a gallon before Harvey hit to $2.49 a gallon on August 31, 2017.

Even the Northeast will feel it, since pipelines deliver some of its gas from the Gulf. To maintain supply, the Department of Energy released 500,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. By September 5, gas prices had returned to pre-Harvey levels. (Source: “Gasoline Prices Jump in Harvey's Wake," The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2017.)

Rainfall

Much of Harvey's damage came from massive rainfall. It created a 1-in-1,000-year flood event. That means nothing of that size has happened within modern recorded history. Flooding covered southeast Texas the size of the state of New Jersey. Thirty inches of rain fell on a area near the coast the size of the state of Maryland. (Source: "Harvey Is a 1,000-year Flood Unprecedented in Scale," The Washington Post, August 31, 2017.)