Harvey's wrath may force rural Texas' most desperate to leave town for good

REFUGIO — Loretta Capistran hung T-shirts on the metal railing of her second-floor apartment, sorting through what she wanted to keep. Her apartment took a beating during Hurricane Harvey: Windows busted, water blown in.

Five of the six buildings in the Refugio Apartments on Osage Street, where Capistran lived, suffered major damage. Sections of roofs were peeled off by the winds. Ceilings sagged and collapsed from the water.

“I’m just trying to save what I can,” she said. “Everything got wet, got damp.”

Nearly two weeks after the storm, the town of 2,800 is bustling with energy. A parking lot behind one of the gas stations on the town’s main thoroughfare, U.S. Highway 77, is lined with 18-wheelers and service trucks. As one resident put it, the town was moving from rescue and recovery to rebuilding.

But that’s not the case at the Osage apartments, one of two low-income complexes in Refugio, about 40 miles southwest of Victoria. Because of the damage, the 48-unit complex is closing, perhaps for good. The apartments have been deemed uninhabitable, and last Sunday, Capistran and nearly 100 other residents received a 10-day notice to vacate.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/harvey/2017/09/09/harveys-wrath-may-force-rural-texas-desperate-leave-town-good