One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas Shoreline, Governor Greg Abbott is predicting that the state will bounce back bigger and stronger than before, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"The good news is, we have amassed more than $30 billion to rebuild Texas," he says. "About half of that will go toward building homes. Much of it will go toward rebuilding infrastructure."
The Category-four hit the Texas coast one year ago this week, causing $125 billion in damage. That ties Hurricane Katrina for the most expensive storm on record. Most of the damage was in Houston, which was underwater.
Flooding displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.
It's those rescues that stand out to Gov. Abbott
."We had Texans helping Texans. It didn’t matter what race you were, what your background was or what your religion was. What mattered was that you were a Texan that needed help," he told WOAI's Michael Board.
He says that same attitude has been on display this past year as Texas rebuilds.Abbott says we never want to see a storm hit Texas, but going forward, Texas will be stronger, thanks to infrastructure improvements.
"Harris County will be more resilient. Beaumont will be more resilient. And the economy will be back up and thriving where the hurricane hit, such as Rockport, Port Aransas and Aransas Pass. We're proud to see how they're responding. We owe the response to our fellow Texans."
GRAPHIC: NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER