PORT ARANSAS, TEX. — Islander souvenir shop has a new roof, inner walls replaced and a load of stuffed dolphins, key chains and shot glasses fresh off the truck. But when it reopened on the first Saturday of spring break, seven months after Hurricane Harvey’s landfall nearby, half the store was still cordoned off and empty.
 |
| Pam Luebke works to clean the floors at Island Sports, a tourist shop in Port Aransas. The tourist shop recently opened after completing repairs from Hurricane Harvey. |
Workers planned to get back on their hands and knees to scrape mud off more of the concrete floor in the coming weeks, but Islander was one of the lucky businesses. More than half are still closed. Windows blown out. Debris piled out front. “No trespassing” signs posted.
Port Aransas, a beach town on a barrier island near the middle of the Texas coast, is almost entirely dependent on tourism. This month accounts for 20 percent of the $400 million it brings in every year from visitors. Half of the city’s income comes in between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Read The Washington Post story by Mary Beth Gahan - “Recovery is a work in progress on the Texas coastline.”
No comments:
Post a Comment