Living through Hurricane Harvey

The devastating stories from hurricanes Harvey and Irma are difficult to hear; our heart aches for the individuals and families who lost so much. Understanding the true extent of the damage and how the victims feel is another story.

The media photos of true destruction became reality for Janet Key, a REALTOR® with San Antonio Portfolio Real Estate. Her home is located on Mustang Island, 8 miles south of the city of Port Aransas and 1 mile south of the Port A city limits.

Key purchased the home in October 2014 as an investment property. The newly built 5 bedroom, 4 and a half bath home was built on stilts and in excellent condition.

When Key heard about Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds, she knew she needed to take precautions. She wanted to leave right away; however, due to her busy schedule in San Antonio, assisting clients and caring for her mother who had recently been hospitalized, she was unable to travel until Sunday.

She recalls the days surrounding Hurricane Harvey making landfall.

I stayed up most of Friday evening watching the hurricane progress on the weather station. Saturday morning, I tried contacting friends that had property there to see if they knew anything. That was a terrible day...not knowing was awful.

Eventually, I was able to get some pictures of downtown Port A. It looked devastated with boats in trees, no roofs and piles of litter everywhere.

I contacted a friend in North Padre who had lost half of his roof and had no power. He said Mustang Island was completely cut off because the ferries weren’t running and Highway 361 was closed due to power lines, boats, debris and litter covering it.

As soon as I heard that my house was standing and I could get to it, I loaded up water, ice, lanterns and food and took off for the coast.

The sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. Highway 361 was still covered with power poles and lines, and debris, but the power was off.

From the outside, my house looked great even though others in the neighborhood had not fared so well. When I went into the main level, there was water everywhere. My hurricane proof windows hadn’t stopped the rain. Another window was broken from a neighbor’s gutter hitting it. Upstairs was the same thing. The window in one of the bedrooms had leaked so the rugs and mattress were soaked.

I went into the lower level and saw that it had been flooded. There was a water line on the walls about 20 inches high. All the furniture had floated around. It was a real mess with mud, debris, and more. The sheet rock in the downstairs bath had split open to let the water flood in. I was also missing parts of my roof; we later found it several lots over.

The next day, I drove around Port A and cried the entire time because of the devastation. I went back to my house and knew how lucky I was.

Since then, Key has made several trips to Port Aransas. Numerous friends have come to help her take down doors, put up new ones and clean.

“My new cologne is ‘Ode de Clorox,’” she says. “I’m still waiting on my claim to be settled, as are many. One more week though and I should have my house back in shape, except for the broken windows and roof.”

Not everyone was as lucky as Key. The agents and leadership of Keller Williams Portfolio continue to be committed to the recovery effort along the Texas coast and in Florida. If you would like to be involved, please visit KW Cares.

These are some of the numbers that the Port Aransas newspaper released concerning the impact that Harvey had on the city.