Port Arthur cleans up after Harvey amid criticism of preparations, drainage

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (KRIV, KTTV) - Everywhere you look in Port Arthur you see mountains of things that were once pieces of people’s lives. Beds they slept on, couches they sat on…maybe to watch TV.

Pianos they played that are now waterlogged and...silent.

For some Port Arthur residents this was their first day back after fleeing their homes. What they saw was as depressing as what they had been through.

Some houses had visible signs of mold growing all over the place. That's toxic…not good.

Harvey wasn’t discriminating. Besides creating catastrophic conditions and raising the misery factor for people from all walks of life the storm had some people saying the city hadn’t done enough to prepare people for the storm.

Stephanie Figueroa said she'd like to have had more warning of what could happen. Others pointed the finger at the county for having pumps that couldn’t drain fast enough.

One county worker told us that 40-inches of rain was just too much at one time for any system.

Jefferson County Commissioner Michael Sinegal was a victim of the flood. His cell phone video shows him driving thru the pouring rain looking for people to help.

He didn't let the rain get him down.

He said had there been moor experience maybe city officials could've done a better job. Meanwhile, Port Arthur Mayor Daniel Freeman says the city can always do a better job.

Almost everyone agrees there are limits when a storm parks above your city and just rains and rains and rains!