For the first time since 2005, a hurricane made landfall in the United States during hurricane season, and the effects have already been devastatingly felt in some cities in the state of Texas.
No one is surprised that there are strong winds during hurricane season, but Hurricane Harvey is wreaking real havoc in some towns. The coastal city of Rockport stands out, which has barely 10,000 inhabitants.
The storm caused catastrophic property damage, including blown roofs and collapsed walls. At its peak, Harvey was a Category 4 of 5, but has since dropped to a Category 1 and the heavy rains have continued. Already in Houston, the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in the country with 2 million inhabitants, the effects have been very destructive.
Heavy rains have made vehicle movement impossible since Saturday, and even more rain is expected in the coming days. In some places, the waters reach the roof of homes and the authorities warn that there may be a risk of death if you go out into the flooded streets. Some families have used water vehicles to move and evacuate.
So far there have been 2 deaths and many more injured and homeless. However, Harvey is a relatively small hurricane compared to others that have also wreaked havoc.
Hurricanes are measured by how far their winds cover, and Harvey covers 450 kilometers.
The largest hurricane in the Atlantic has been Igor, which covered 1,480 kilometers but never made landfall. Hurricane Sandy (775 kilometers), on the other hand, caused damage in New York and New Jersey in 2012, according to CNN En Español.
For cities affected by hurricane winds, the authorities recommend not leaving their homes, and for cities affected by heavy rains, they recommend not venturing onto flooded streets and climbing on the roof if necessary, so that rescuers can see them.