Rockport, Texas, homeowners return to debris, devastation

Homeowners are starting to trickle in and see what’s what left in the property.

August 28, 2017, 10:30 PM

— -- The wind was still whipping as Christina Urdiales dragged debris from her hollowed out house in the heavily damaged city of Rockport, Texas to the curb. Her husband, Robert, was inside their home, going through what’s left, four days after then-Category-4 Hurricane Harvey plowed into the tiny sea town. The couple are just some of the homeowners that are starting to trickle in and see what’s what left in the storm’s wake.

“Our neighbor called and he said, ‘Christina, have you heard?’ I said ‘no’. He said, ‘your house is gone,’” she told ABC News through tears.

PHOTO: Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.
Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.

Both former police officers from San Antonio, Texas, the couple said they had bought the home here with most of their savings in hopes of retiring soon, debt free.

Now, the house looks like the site of a bomb blast, with no walls or roof. There are stairs that lead to the second floor, but all that remains upstairs is a pantry.

PHOTO: Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.
Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.

The couple told ABC News that they do have insurance, and are hoping it’s enough to rebuild. Until then, their task is to clean up and salvage whatever is left.

“We’re not rich! Just working people,” said Christina Urdiales. “It may look like junk to some, but it’s not junk to us.”

PHOTO: Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.
Christina and Robert Urdiales clean up debris around their destroyed second home in Rockport, Texas on Monday, August 28. They had planned to retire there before Hurricane Harvey hit.

Down the road, Christina and Jared Jellison have also traveled from home to Rockport to check on their home. They live in Austin, Texas full-time and and vacation at the house by the shore.

"It's hard. I put so much heart into it," she said.

PHOTO: Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.
Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.

The deck leading to the front door has snapped in half and blown to the front yard. The couple takes careful steps to the door and have to hoist themselves up to get inside.

PHOTO: Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.
Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.

As they walk around, each room seems to have sustained damage. In one bedroom, there is a huge hole in the roof.

PHOTO: Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.
Christina and Jared Jellison assess damage to their vacation home caused by Hurricane Harvey in Rockport, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.

Almost every house in the Copono Cove community in Rockport looks to have sustained some sort of bad damage. For those lucky enough to have escaped unscathed from the storm, there is still major hurdles that lie ahead: no power, water or cell phone signal.

"I told [our 6 year old son] that when we tell the people to build the next one, it will be as strong as his muscles," said Christina Jellison.

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