Community Corner

Hurricane Harvey: Senior Housing Center Collapses In Texas Town Along Storm's Path (Updated)

Shortly after landfall, cyclone causes building collapse, damages high school and lays waste to county courthouse in Rockport, Texas.

ROCKPORT, TX — Reports of damage near the eye of the storm of Hurricane Harvey began trickling in late Friday, the most serious among them accounts of a building collapse in Rockport, Texas, along the Gulf Coast where people reportedly were trapped.

According to local media reports, a Rockport senior housing complex buckled under the weight of the storm, with rescue teams initially unable to reach them. The city manager at Rockport confirmed the reports to KIII TV of Corpus Christi, Texas. The condition of those trapped under the rubble was unknown as of late Friday.

By early Saturday morning, officials reported those inside the building had been rescued. ABC 13 reported the victims of the collapse were taken to a makeshift medical site at the nearby jail for treatment of their injuries. The number of people treated is unknown, as is the extent of their injuries.

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Harvey Could Be The Strongest Hurricane To Hit The US Since 2005


Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane at around 10 p.m. Friday between the Texas towns of Port Aransas and Port O'Conner with winds of about 130 miles per hour. Soon thereafter, the initial reports of damage began to emerge.

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In addition to the building collapse, the courthouse in Rockport has sustained substantial damag, KIII reported. Local media outlets also reported a part of Rockport-Fulton High School had caved in, but officials said the reports were false.

All told, 10 people have undergone medical treatment as a result of the huricane, the news station reported. Adding to the woes is the loss of telephone service and landline telephone service at the city's Emergency Management Center—the very agency tasked with keeping residents apprised with updates, according to the news station.

Located in Aransas County, Texas, the city of Rockport (population 8,766 at the 2010 census) is located along ground zero of the hurricane's landfall, some 30 miles northeast of the coastal city of Corpus Christi. Rockpart is on the Live Oak Peninsula, the western shore of Aransas Bay, an arm of the Gulf of Mexico and situated along the eastern shore of Copano Bay.

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