75°
65º | 82°
Thirty-eight years ago on Aug. 18, Hurricane Alicia wreaked havoc on the coast of Texas and nearly four decades later U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) is using the milestone to stress the importance of being storm ready.
"Growing up in #TX07, Hurricane Alicia in 1983 was the first hurricane I remember experiencing," she wrote in a tweet.
Alicia formed just south of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 15, 1983 and ballooned into a Category 3 storm, making landfall on San Luis Pass on the western tip of Galveston Island, according to CW39.
"I remember the rain and the wind outside, the water in the streets and the calm of the eye of the storm," Fletcher tweeted.
CW29 reported Alicia carried sustained winds of nearly 100 MPH, dumping about a dozen inches of rain and spawning 23 tornadoes. Twenty-three people were killed during her onslaught, and the Greater Houston area was left with a billion dollars' worth of property damage.
"Today's anniversary is a great reminder to be prepared," Fletcher wrote in the tweet.
The congresswoman provided a graphic with tips on how to prepare for a hurricane, as well as how to navigate the aftermath of one on her website.
She encouraged Texans to have a kit ready that included necessary items such as: a seven-day supply of water, a week's supply of food and canned goods, a hand-operated can opener, a first aid kit, a seven-day supply of food for your pets, personal hygiene products, prescription medication, flashlights, a car charger or extra battery for your cell phone and a battery operated radio.
She also encouraged homeowners to consider purchasing flood insurance soon since it takes about a month to take effect, and to those who already have it make sure the policy is renewed so that damages covered by flood waters can be covered.