of the
USAFA graduate helps guide Texas community’s recovery following direct hit from Hurricane Harvey By Jeff Holmquist / Photos: Ryan Hall
O
n the way to his office, Mayor Charles “C.J.” Wax ’69 drives past pile after pile of storm debris along the streets of Rockport, Texas. “This is an example of what Mother Nature can do when she’s angry,” Wax quips. Downed trees, splintered building materials and drenched household goods make up the majority of the rubble scattered about town by Hurricane Harvey’s landfall here on Aug. 25, 2017. “Sorry you came to our community under these circumstances,” Wax says. “My hope is that you can come back three years from now and see the city of Rockport better than it used to be.” Wax suggests that his previous experience as an Air Force wing commander helps him focus on the seemingly overwhelming task of recovery and the innumerable steps required to return the community to pre-hurricane condition. A month has passed since the Category 4 storm struck this Gulf Coast town with 130-mile-per-hour winds and torrential rainfall, but any visitor would be shocked at how much work remains to be accomplished. It’s now mid-September and dozens of cleanup crews have removed nearly 350,000 cubic yards of debris from the city’s landscape, trucked to a central loca40 · usafa.org
tion affectionately called “Debris Mountain” on the outskirts of town. But officials estimate they haven’t even reached the halfway point of the mammoth debrisremoval process. When the storm clouds disappeared on Aug. 26, local officials discovered that more than a third of Rockport’s homes and businesses were completely swept away. Another third of the community’s structures were severely damaged and may have to be razed or significantly rebuilt. Every apartment complex in the city (population 10,000) was damaged to such an extent that people no longer are allowed to live in the units. Thousands of residents are homeless, and many have moved to other parts of Texas while assessing the next chapter in their lives. “We don’t know if they will ever return to our community,” Wax admits. “And I’m concerned about the number of businesses that are not going to return.” City Hall and the county courthouse are likely complete losses, and many city employees now have to work out of temporary office space. The school buildings all have significant damage, forcing students to temporarily attend classes in a neighboring community. Rockport’s five major tourist attractions (Rockport Center for the Arts, Texas Mari-