Erica Siaulinski, Staff Writer
The formal tropical storm Edouard left its mark in damage on Texas in early September. Authorities rescued dozens from their stranded cars, and homes that were filled with flood water. The rural parts of the state faced up to almost two feet of heavy rainfall, costing millions of dollars in damages across the state.
On August 29th, the National Hurricane Center began monitoring a nearly-stationary area of low pressure and associated weak convection near the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico. By August 31st, it had been named a tropical depression which seemed to be slowly expanding. The storm slowly gained more momentum as it pushed towards the United States.
On September 1st the heavy rain of the storm, which touched land and weakened into a less powerful tropical depression, was expected to make its way to the eastern part of the state and threatened to do even more damage according to the weather reporters and meteorologists.
On September 1st, about 85 miles outside of Houston Texas, in Hardin-County residents were met with flooding, downed trees, power lines down and power outages that were making their living situations more than hazardous. Local authorities advised residents to move to another location if possible.
Somewhere between 18 to 20 inches of rain fell in Texas in a 48 hour period, a state that on average, gets 5 inches of rain per month. The storm’s winds managed to get up to about 60 miles per hour and in Jefferson county, the main concern quickly became power lines and trees that were taken down by the storm and causing destruction to nearby areas. Over 22,000 residents were without power according to one report done, and 25,000 residences were reported to be without utilities at all following the storm.
An assisted living facility in Hardin county was damaged by flooding, and had to evacuate 21 of its residents. Photos emerged of the evacuation showing residents in high waters making their way out of the facility.
Texas was not the only state to be hit by the tropical storm. Louisiana was also affected by the storm’s heavy rainfall as well as receiving winds up to 45 miles per hour. Damages, though not as severe as the damages reported in Texas, were reported across the state in all different counties.
The storm dissipated on September 3rd and caused roughly a little more than $10 million in damages across the country. Solid waste crews were sent out to collect trash and other debris from the storm and in just 10 days managed to collect 75% of the waste caused by the tropical storm in Texas. Both Texas and Louisiana are expected to completely recover shortly.
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