Randy Weber: “In all my years, I have seen a lot of storms, a lot of hurricanes, a lot of floods, a lot of tropical depressions, a lot…”

“In all my years, I have seen a lot of storms, a lot of hurricanes, a lot of floods, a lot of tropical depressions, a lot of rains in Texas. We have a whole variety of weather in Texas and a lot of just about every calamity weather-wise you can think of. I have seen nothing come close to Hurricane Harvey. In 24 hours, we went from Tropical Storm Harvey to Category 4 Hurricane Harvey. As with most hurricanes, there was no rhyme or reason for the destruction and the ensuing devastation. Harvey's bands of rains sat on southeast Texas with a vengeance and for days on end, and the situation turned quickly from bad to worse. Mr. Speaker, we got 51 to 53 inches of rain in 3 to 4 days. That part of Texas' annual rainfall is about 53 inches a year. We got a whole year's worth of rainfall in under a week's time. Our great first responders, our volunteers, risked their lives time and time again to save others. When the Nation saw that we needed help, the boats and the people just kept coming. We got the Cajun Navy from Louisiana; 100 guys with their own boats came to help us. They did things we didn't think were possible, so I coined a new phrase, ``Cajuneering.'' They came in and really helped us. We saw neighbors and strangers alike step up to help each other. That is the Texas way. When the Nation saw that we needed help, people came pouring in. More than that, it is not just the Texas way, it is the American way.…”