Bridge City, Texas

The worst damage in Texas occurred in several counties in Southeast Texas, including Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, Jasper, Newton and Tyler counties, where damage to electrical and communication services was severe. Power was not restored in some areas across the region for weeks to even months. Cities in the "Golden Triangle" formed by Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, TX sustained extensive wind damage, whether directly from wind or collaterally from wind-fallen trees, tree branches and/or other detritus. In Beaumont, an estimated 25% of the trees in neighborhoods across the city were uprooted or heavily damaged, and in Groves (home of "The Texas Pecan Festival"), about the same percentage of pecan trees suffered similar fates. The water treatment plant in Port Neches was heavily damaged. Governor Rick Perry declared a nine-county disaster area as a result of the significant damage in those communities.[7]

Widespread flooding occurred in Jefferson and Orange county, and at least 20 homes in Beaumont were flooded. Additionally, several roadways were flooded. The passage of the hurricane caused one fatality in the state; a Bridge City man was killed when his carport crashed on him outside his house.The combination of saturated grounds and strong winds uprooted many trees and downed power lines across the path of the hurricane, with at least 50 high voltage transmission poles blown down or seriously damaged; over 120,000 power customers in Orange and Jefferson counties lost power, with 118,000 Entergy customers in the state without electricity. The National Weather Service estimates gusts exceeded 90 mph (145 km/h) in southwestern Jefferson County and extreme southeastern Chambers County.[8]

Due to the high winds, falling trees and power lines left at least 300,000 customers in Southeastern Texas without electricity, most of them in Jefferson County. Hundreds of homes also suffered damage.[9]

Bridge City, Texas was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008.[10] Damage was widespread and severe across Orange County. With over 95 percent of buildings and houses in Bridge City totally gutted, the city was nearly completely destroyed. The 22-foot (6.7 m) storm surge completely flooded the city and obliterated everything in its way. Storm surge breached the levee at the City of Orange, and traveled up the Neches River to flood Rose City. It took three days to drain the water from the city. The city government gutted the city hall due to the Ike damages. The first city council meeting after Ike was held there sometime recent before January 19, 2009. Of the 3,400 houses in Bridge City, 16 were still habitable immediately after Ike.[11]

In the City of Orange, right next to Bridge City, nearly the entire city of 19,000 people was flooded, anywhere from 6 inches (15 cm) to 15 feet (4.5 m).[12] The mayor of the city said about 375 people, of those who stayed behind during the storm, began to emerge, some needing food, water and medical care.[12] Many dead fish littered streets and properties.[13] Bridge City Mayor Kirk Roccaforte estimated that only 14 homes in the city were unaffected by the surge. Five of which were in the Oakview addition on Louise Street. The piles of debris and waterlogged furniture placed outside homes by residents beginning to clean up led the mayor to say "The whole city looks like a flea market."[5] During the post-storm cleanup, Bridge City residents found swimming pools had been occupied by jellyfish brought inland with the water.[14] Three people were found dead in Orange County on September 29.[15]

Hurricane Harvey was a huge rainfall producer. On the night of August 30, 2017, Bridge City was absolutely inundated with floodwaters, causing widespread damage. The past twenty-four hours had seen over 20 inches of rainfall. By the time Harvey was working its way toward Southeast Texas, it was a slow-moving storm, meaning everywhere in Harvey’s path would be drenched in rainfall for several days before Harvey moved on.[16]

Tropical Storm Imelda was another rainy storm. As the system stalled across Southeast Texas, significant convection developed with a feeder band southwest of the center the evening of the 17th into the morning of the 18th, with significant flooding across Galveston to Houston. Another significant feeder band developed south of the center across Southeast Texas the afternoon of the 18th into the 19th. The orientation of this rain band provided continuous training of thunderstorms across Southeast Texas, with devastating flooding along the I-10 corridor from Winnie eastward to Fannett, Beaumont, Vidor, and Orange Texas. This area accumulated 30 to 44 inches of rainfall during the storm.[17]

When Hurricane Laura hit, there was mainly wind damage in Bridge City. Several trees, light poles and traffic lights down due to the violent winds that Hurricane Laura brought.[18] A wind gust of 73mph was recorded at Port Arthur near Bridge City. The Orange County Airport's weather station went out during the storm.[19][20] Structural damage also occurred in Bridge City

Hurricane Delta was another windy storm and was very similar to Hurricane Laura in terms of wind. A wind gust of 68mph was recorded at Orange County Airport (Texas) at 5:35pm. [21]