Tony Wessendorff and Gail Corrigan at Riverside Dr Marina are constantly thinking of family and friends back in Nassau Bay, Texas. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Tony Wessendorff and Gail Corrigan at Riverside Dr Marina are constantly thinking of family and friends back in Nassau Bay, Texas. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Tony Wessendorff and Gail Corrigan from Houston, Texas, are glad they are in Whangarei but their thoughts are with family and friends back home who bore the brunt of Hurricane Harvey.
The yachties are in constant touch with loved ones and monitoring news reports from Texas where the powerful hurricanehas claimed more than 20 lives and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
People in Texas trapped in floodwaters moving to safety during Hurricane Harvey.
Photo / AP
They live on a condominium in Nassau Bay, by Clear Lake that flows into the Gulf of Mexico, but are in Whangarei getting repairs on their yacht.
Mr Wessendorff said 45cm of water seeped into their garage but otherwise their home was not badly damaged. Others in the area were not so lucky.
"One hundreds and fifty homes in Nassau Bay were evacuated, including our mayor. Our son who lives in the Cypress area of Mexico had to rescue his wife's grandmothers using a high-water vehicle.
People in Texas trapped in floodwaters moving to safety during Hurricane Harvey.
Photo / AP
"During Hurricane Ike in 2008, we had to evacuate for three days but that lasted three weeks because we had no power, no water and no sewerage system. But there's more water, over 50 inches, this time round."
Mr Wessendorff said in the 60 years he has lived in Houston, this was the worst natural disaster in terms of the amount of rain that fell.
"The hurricane formed so fast... within 72 hours and once it hit land, it stopped then picked up more rain. Authorities were fielding 1000 calls an hour but people with their boats and engines, state and county officials and police all worked together," said the retired banker.
He said authorities expected it would take two to three weeks for water to drain out.
Houston was low lying but it has really good flood control district and a lot of shopping centres have retention ponds, he said.
Instead of Houston, the couple fly out on Monday to Los Angeles and stay in a family cabin in Colorado for five weeks before going home because the sewerage system in Nassau Bay is not working.
Their 16.5-metre yacht SV-Cetacea is moored at Riverside Dr Marina and will be kept in a shed before being moved to another location in January next year for maintenance work.
They sailed into Whangarei from Tonga in November last year and will spend more than $300,000 on the refit using Whangarei businesses.
