Port Aransas growing 5 years after Hurricane Harvey

PORT ARANSAS, Texas - Five years after Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas coast, many people are still putting their lives back together.

Port Aransas has grown tremendously since the devastating storm. New construction has brought about new homes and businesses.

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According to Beth Owens, a local business owner in Port Aransas, her businesses are back to where they were before Harvey.

"Leading up to Harvey, tourism was at a great place," said Owens. "Now, we’re at kind of the same level."

Owens says she’s thankful for her employees. Within months, they had helped clean up and rebuild their businesses on the island.

"I can’t believe it’s only been five years," said Owens. "As a town, we’re much better where we are today than before Harvey."

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On August 25, 2017, Harvey made landfall near Port Aransas as a category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds and a 12-foot storm surge. City officials estimate Port Aransas sustained roughly $1 billion in damages.

The cleanup and rebuild hasn't been easy for homeowners in Port Aransas. Now five years later, some people say they’re still waiting on insurance companies to pay for damage done to their homes. However, others say they gave up on their insurance companies and just paid for construction on their own.

"The insurance companies don’t want to pay," said A.W. Pierce, a homeowner in Port Aransas. "They do anything they can to keep from paying."

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Pierce received a check for a portion of the damage while we visited his home last week, five years after Harvey.

"Until they pay me, I’m not spending a lot of money," said Pierce. "It’s a battle. I don’t know when it’s going to end."

While the island hasn’t been hit by a hurricane since Harvey, people there say they’ll never forget the dangers of living along the Gulf Coast.

"Our town is better prepared," said Owens. "As a business owner, we’re better prepared."