-
Background
Hurricane Harvey was formed from a large tropical wave, moving westwards from Africa. It emerged from the eastern Atlantic Ocean on August 12th, 2017. -
Becoming a Tropical Storm
The storm system became a tropical cyclone on August 17th, 2017, just east of Barbados. Maintaining its strength, the cyclone intensified and became a tropical storm later that day. -
First Landfall
With winds of 45 mph, the storm made its first landfall in Barbados and St. Vincent before moving into the Caribbean Sea. -
Period: to
Weakening and Strengthening
After its first landfall, the storm quickly weakened and became a tropical wave on August 19th. The storm reached the Gulf of Mexico on August 23rd and generated into a cyclone once again. -
State of Emergency
As the hurricane approached, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas declared a state of emergency for 30 counties and later adding 20 more counties. The FEMA agency "placed disaster response teams on standby at emergency posts in Austin, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana" (en.wikipedia.org). -
Reaching its Peak
Harvey began to strengthen on August 24th, reaching its peak and becoming a Category 4 hurricane. -
United States Landfall
Hurricane Harvey made landfall on San Jose Island on August 26th with winds up to 130 mph. The hurricane later made a second landfall in mainland Texas. -
Period: to
Rainfall
After hitting land, Harvey began to weaken significantly. The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm. For two days, the storm stalled and dumped massive amounts of rain in parts of Texas, causing flash flooding across the state. -
Storm Weakens
After two days of heavy downpour, the storm re-entered the Gulf of Mexico and began to deform. -
Period: to
Aftermath
After the storm, Harvey caused an estimated $125 billion in damage. One of the most affected city in Texas was Houston. "There were 738,000 people who registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency" (www.thebalance.com). NFL player JJ Watt raised $37 million to help the people of Houston in need of food and supplies.
JJ Watt -
Why I chose it?
I decided to pick this event because Hurricane Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Major cities, such as Houston Texas, are still recovering from this tropical storms destruction to this day. The hurricane was the costliest storm in the United States "at as much as $108 billion" (http://money.cnn.com). -
