The View from the Eye

By Della AdameSeptember 13, 2017

Rockport comes together after Harvey
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
View from the Eye
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View from the Eye II
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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- A Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) employee who sees the Hurricane Harvey damage from multiple perspectives is J.D. Villa, a lifelong resident of South Texas and a Rockport city councilman.

J.D. and his family safely evacuated to the Bryan College Station area during the hurricane and returned after the storm to find utter devastation in the streets of his hometown of Rockport, which took a direct hit from Category 4 Hurricane Harvey.

With the Rockport area remaining under mandatory evacuation orders and with strict curfews in effect, the town looked lifeless upon his return. His childhood home was destroyed by the fierce winds. Hurricane Harvey ripped the roof off of the structure exposing all possessions to the elements. The structure was a complete and total loss.

Serving as a Rockport City Councilman, J.D.'s return to his coastal home town impacted him as a community leader, as well. The rapid intensification of the storm gave residents little time to board up and evacuate, most only taking what would fit in the family car. Most would come home to very little of what they left behind.

When the city of Rockport could no longer provide a haven for its residents or even his own family, things looked intense from both the personal and leadership perspectives. It was then that Mr. Villa received a phone call from Mr. Dennis Campbell, the Employee Assistance Program Director at CCAD.

At the direction of the CCAD Commander, COL Allan H. Lanceta, the Depot reached out to its displaced employees within days of the landfall to find out what they needed in the aftermath of the hurricane. The coordination of efforts between the Army and the Navy cleared a way to offer temporary housing options to displaced CCAD employees on-board the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.

Having one less thing to deal with allowed Villa to focus on attending to the more immediate needs of his family and constituents, and on returning to work, to reestablish a routine to help get him back to some semblance of normalcy. Even though that routine includes a daily trip to Rockport to continue with the cleanup and the insurance claims process - which could take weeks, Villa is grateful that his employer did not hesitate in the post storm recovery efforts to make sure that he and his family are safe and together.

Villa is confident that the town leadership did all the right things to ensure the safety of the community ahead of the storm and now will be leading the way to recovery, reconstruction and rebuilding.

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