The City of Port Aransas is still in the midst of its recovery from Hurricane Harvey, four months after the town was devastated by the Category 4 storm. Mayor Charles Bujan said his town is on a path to making things better than before. Wochit
PORT ARANSAS, Texas - The City of Port Aransas, from a distance, looks as it always has.
The familiar shape of the town's silhouette on the horizon from State Highway 361 is there, a coastal community beckoning tourists to its many beach-side attractions. But take a closer look, and it becomes apparent that things are not quite the same.
More than four months after Hurricane Harvey barreled into this Texas Gulf coast town its mark remains evident. To the right along the highway , blue tarps cover the tops of condos or homes whose roofs were sheared or ripped away by the storm. There's piles of debris still visible in many areas, and buildings that were destroyed lie in pieces, awaiting cleanup crews who will tear down what's left and haul the remains to their final resting place.
Get closer to the main thoroughfare of Port Aransas and there's a mountain of debris that has been a constant fixture since Harvey roared ashore as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of more than 130 mph. The storm made landfall on Aug. 25 in Aransas County, but part of Harvey's eye wall went over Port Aransas, slamming the community of about 4,000 with gusts of over 160 mph.
The area also received an 11-foot storm surge, inundating homes with several feet of seawater, sand and mud.
"Just go into the neighborhoods and take a close look — real slow, you'll see," Port Aransas Mayor Charles Bujan said. "Harvey's still here."
Despite the long road to rebuilding Bujan is steadfast in his belief the town will eventually overcome this.
It's that fighting spirit and resilience that has made Bujan the Caller-Times Newsmaker of the Year for 2017.
The fight to rebuild
Bujan (pronounced BOO-yahn) has lengthy ties to the Mustang Island town that stretch back to the late 1800s. His family has lived here since 1885, when his grandfather, Matteo, moved to the area. That was before the town itself was even established. He looks like a typical islander -often donning a worn ball cap with other casual comforts - and would not be out of place on a fishing pier.
In fact, he's also known as Capt. Bujan because of his experience as a fishing guide.
But that appearance has lately been mostly by necessity — Harvey's storm surge flooded his home, destroying the interior furniture and appliances, as well as clothing belonging to him and his wife, Sherri.
"I've gotten my closet back up again," he said with a laugh this past week. "But, I'm living in the kitchen of my house now while they work on it."
And Mother Nature continues to make her presence known.
"The other day, with the snow storm, it started leaking right on my bed," he said. "So, it's never-ending."
Harvey's impact was not just felt in Port Aransas — the cities of Rockport, Fulton Aransas Pass, Refugio and Ingleside were devastated. Smaller towns — like Bayside, Lamar and Holiday Beach — were decimated.
In each of those communities, small-town mayors like Bujan have had to navigate their citizens through the federal disaster recovery process. The process started out on a good note, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency swooping in and helping with debris cleanup.
In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane that aid was critical, Bujan noted. The highway through town was completely blocked by debris blown into the roadway, and bulldozers were called in to clear a path for emergency crews. They finally managed to clean an 18-mile stretch, and Bujan laid eyes on the town for the first time post-Harvey.
"When I came in behind that, it was just total devastation — boats everywhere, buildings down," he said.
Officials later said that 95 percent of Port Aransas' businesses were damaged by Hurricane Harvey, with most of those still closed. All of the town's hotels also suffered some form of damage, and most remain closed. Seventy-five percent of the city's homes suffered critical damage or were destroyed.
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The sight of golf carts - a preferred mode of transportation for some islanders and tourists- used to be frequent.
But Jimmy Cummings, owner of Stingrays Taphouse & Grill, said the morning traffic is now filled with mostly local and outside contractors coming into town for rebuilding work. The air is filled with echoes of hammers or saws, a new addition to the sounds of waves or boats coming from along the shore or the cries of seagulls as they fly overhead.
"The good thing about it is we're coming back," Cummings said. "The souvenir shops, you watch — week before spring break, they will have them all ready to go."
More: Port Aransas feels economic pinch after Hurricane Harvey
Those souvenir shops, like Destination Beach & Surf (recognizable by the large shark at its front entrance) or Islander Souvenirs on Alister Street, are completely gutted right now. Bujan said many businesses are hoping to reopen by spring break in March, but it is the town's SandFest (scheduled for April 27-29) that will be the true test. That event brings about several hundred thousand people to the coastal community every year.
Right now, with hotels and rental homes damaged by Harvey, there's few places for people to stay. Places that are available are being used by contractors or those getting temporary help from FEMA.
Bujan said at night things are even more starkly different.
"It’s very quiet over here — there’s not much noise, there’s not much traffic," he said. "At night time, it’s dead silence."
Alone on an island
Harvey was an enigma to the National Weather Service in the days before it eventually made landfall in Aransas County.
Six days prior, forecasters gave Harvey a "low probability" of impacting the United States. Initial projections had the storm making landfall in Mexico, according to a summary report of the storm issued by the National Weather Service. By the end of Aug. 21, forecasters were more certain that the storm would cross the Yucatan Peninsula and make landfall in Texas.
The next day, Bujan began using his Facebook page as a way to keep residents informed of the situation in the tropics. By Aug. 23, weather forecasters were estimating Harvey would become a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane by landfall, with hurricane watches set from Baffin Bay on up to just south of Galveston.
Bujan's own experience told him to prepare for the worst.
"My family has lived here for 130 years — we've been through all the major storms," he said. "I know all the signs, and this one that was coming off of the Yucatan Peninsula had all the signs of coming here."
Harvey was quick to strengthen as it was pushed along by deep warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico and heavy tropical moisture. It moved from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph in just 32 hours.
Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal and Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb opted to not issue mandatory evacuation orders as Harvey approached — which other communities like Rockport, Aransas Pass and Fulton had done. Still, they urged residents along the coast to leave. Neal and McComb have said their decision was based on a desire to avoid putting too many people on the road for an evacuation so close to Harvey's landfall.
More: Hurricane season ending, but preparations for next already underway
More: McComb: No mandatory evacuation order during Hurricane Harvey was 'right call'
Bujan, whose town is situated in Nueces County, nevertheless made the decision the day before landfall to issue a mandatory evacuation for Port Aransas residents. People took heed and quickly got out of town, a feat in itself given there are only two points of access or exit for Port Aransas — taking a ferry to Aransas Pass or the highway.
"We're islanders, and we know when something bad is coming," Bujan explained. "I'm just happy that they reacted — they cleared this island in no time at all, believe me, and thank God they did."
The decision likely saved countless lives, given the damage caused by Harvey's winds and storm surge.
"I'm glad that I did," he said. "It's always tricky for a mayor to do that because a lot of times, you issue an order and it doesn't come and everybody's evacuated — then people are upset."
Bujan said he hasn't received one complaint about the mandatory evacuation order.
"I think had we not made that call, we'd probably have a lot of body bags in Port Aransas as a result of that hurricane," he said.
The aftermath
In the weeks and months since Harvey ravaged the Coastal Bend, Bujan has joined with his mayoral counterparts in Rockport (C.J. Wax), Fulton (Jimmy Kendrick) and Aransas Pass (Ramiro Gomez) in being vocal about their communities' need for recovery assistance.
He's embraced the role as champion for the town. He's testified before legislators, met with the governor and done countless interviews including with national media. The goal has been to ensure the town he loves is not forgotten.
“The most significant damage occurred to our citizens — many of them lost their homes, all of their belongings, their jobs and their sources of income,” Bujan said at a Dec. 20 hearing before the Texas House Committee on Land & Resource Management in Corpus Christi.
“I’ve learned that there is absolutely no way for me to quantify the emotional and physical impact a disaster of this magnitude has on the persona of an individual,” he said. “Many of our citizens are still in the grieving stages — some are still traumatized by the event and haven’t even touched or addressed the issues that they have to address with their homes.”
Bujan, who was elected in May 2016, has made himself easily accessible to residents. His cell phone is listed on the city website. He also makes it a point to visit businesses like Moby Dick's, a restaurant that will soon reopen, to check on their progress.
"He's a very energetic, very honest, very good guy — Bujan is definitely a great person," said Ed Ziegler, owner of Moby Dick's.
More: Officials: Federal red tape 'frustrating' for hurricane recovery
More: Commissioner: Harvey a disaster with very little relief" from FEMA
Residents and local officials feel like South Texas - ground zero for Harvey's wrath- has taken a backseat as Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico deal with their own hurricane recovery. And Port Aransas citizens, Bujan said, have been slow to repair their homes as they struggle with windstorm or flood insurance, or the FEMA assistance process.
Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney, who has been just as vocal with his displeasure at FEMA's efforts to provide long-term housing assistance, said at a Dec. 19 meeting that Bujan has had to bear the brunt of the criticism in Port Aransas.
"He's the real guy over there, and he has taken the brunt of this — I wouldn't want to be the mayor of Port Aransas right now," Chesney said. "There is no winning over there, but (there) couldn't be a better guy doing the job in my opinion."
Bujan does credit FEMA for helping with brush and debris cleanup costs, with FEMA picking up 90 percent of that. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week also presented Bujan with a $700,000 check that is meant to cover part of the remaining 10 percent the city is expected to pick up. The state is planning to use money from its own budget to help hurricane-affected areas pay that 10 percent match FEMA requires.
More: State to pay 10 percent of hurricane debris costs
But his unhappiness remains when talking about long-term housing assistance from the federal government. He's blunt and matter-of-fact.
"I'm very disappointed in the federal government," he said. "I'm very proud of what (the community has) done, and they're going to do better."
The Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce and Cinnamon Shore set up a fundraising site for the town's recovery called The New Day Port A Fund. So far, it's raised $892,000.
And then there's all the other grassroots efforts. Homes for Displaced Marlins has already awarded RVs to more than 30 displaced families.
Bujan is also working with city officials to see the town through the rebuilding process. There is already talk of proposals that include elevating all city buildings by 15 feet, building a new seawall and changing city ordinances to require that all homes be elevated. That means homes would no longer be allowed to be built just on concrete slabs.
Port Aransas leaders held a November town hall meeting to get feedback on what direction the city should take as it rebuilds.
"If there's any perfect opportunity out of a hurricane, this is the time to look at your town and say where do you want it to go," he said. "I, for one, want 99 percent of that input to come from the citizens of Port Aransas."
Bujan looks to the damage of his own home as an example of the difficulty in that process. He knows it will never be what it once was. Harvey caused an estimated $4.6 billion in damage to the Coastal Bend (according to the National Weather Service). About $700 million of that was in Port Aransas, he said.
Most of the town's municipal buildings were destroyed. The school district was closed for weeks.
But despite the losses, Bujan said, Port Aransas has the potential to be something greater.
"It's not going to be the way it was here in town," he said. "Port Aransas has been changed, but it's going to be better and it's going to be new, and it's going to be good again."
Newsmakers of the Year
Here are some of the newsmakers from the past decade:
2016: Margie C. Rose, Corpus Christi city manager
2015: Suzette Quintanilla-Arriaga, Q Productions producer
2014: Terry Simpson, San Patricio County judge
2013: Mike Carrell, outgoing port chairman
2012: Gregg Robertson, geologist involved in the discovery of the Eagle Ford Shale
2011: Donna Shaver, conservationist, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle advocate
2010: Dusty Durrill, philanthropist, Newsmaker of Decade
2009: Mark Escamilla, Del Mar College president
2008: Bernard Paulson, engineer and port commissioner
2007: Gloria Hicks, philanthropist