A tree down or damaged after a storm in Corpus Christi

Anyone hurt, or a tree on a wire or a house: call 911 or the utility before anything else. This site is not for emergencies. Once nobody is in danger, the order that saves trouble here is: stay clear, take photos, call your insurer, and only then decide what gets cut.

Who to call for what

Those numbers belong to those offices, not to us.

What past storms did here

These come from the National Weather Service office in Corpus Christi and the National Hurricane Center. Gusts are the highest we found at a station in the city. The weather service warns that Harvey's numbers may run low, because many stations failed before the peak.

Celia is the one to remember when you look at your yard. Dr. Robert Simpson described "a succession of long streaks of heavy damage", and the weather service says some homes were untouched in the devastated areas. Harold's damage was patchy too. So a clean lot next door says nothing about your own trees. The International Society of Arboriculture says to have larger trees near people or property looked at even when they seem unharmed, since they can hide "cracks in trunks or limbs, hanging branches, or soil heaving."

Before you touch anything

Texas A&M Forest Service puts it as "Look up and look down." Stay out from under broken limbs caught overhead, and away from any downed wire, phone and cable lines included. ISA adds that trees resting on roofs or other trees may keep moving after the storm has passed, and that limbs under tension "may react unexpectedly when cut or moved". It calls debris cleanup inherently dangerous. If you evacuated, the city says not to come back before local officials say it is safe.

Photos before cleanup

The city says to document damage before you clean up: "take photos and make a list", and save your receipts. The Texas Department of Insurance also wants pictures taken before the tree moves or repairs begin. The weather service's 2026 hurricane guide says "DO NOT throw out damaged property before your adjuster has inspected the debris unless it is a health hazard or impedes local cleanup." Stand back far enough to show where the tree stood and what it hit.

Which policy pays is less obvious here than inland. The windstorm insurance page goes through it.

Can it be saved?

Do not decide on the first day if you do not have to. The Forest Service warns that "hasty decisions can often result in removing trees that could have been saved." After Harvey its strike teams worked in Rockport, Fulton, Refugio and Victoria, nearby towns rather than Corpus Christi, and found live oaks "particularly hard hit with damage most commonly occurring in the crowns". A torn crown does not settle the question by itself.

The Forest Service calls a crown at least half intact a good rule of thumb for survival, and says one lost major limb is usually survivable for a mature shade tree. A split trunk is the clear case: "This tree should be removed." If the roots moved, its flood page says a mature tree leaning more than 30 degrees, or uprooted with more than three inches of roots exposed, should be looked at by a Certified Arborist for possible removal, and "Do not try to stand the tree up or stake it in place." The trim or remove page has the full list of questions.

Trees on public land

A tree in the street is a 311 call. The Forest Service's Urban Forest Strike Teams go out after a declared disaster, but they assess trees "on public property and rights-of-way", so do not expect one in your back yard.

Debris after a big storm

The regular schedule may not be what applies. The hurricane guide says cities and counties will publish a schedule for debris pickup, that crews cannot take debris from private property, and that vegetative debris, construction materials, appliances and hazardous waste go to the curb in separate piles. For ordinary times, see the brush page.

Who shows up after a storm

The Forest Service says "Don't hire just anyone who shows up at your door after a storm." The FTC says "Be skeptical of anyone promising immediate clean-up or repairs", and "If they want cash up front, walk away." The Texas Department of Insurance says that when a disaster is declared, contractors from outside your area cannot legally ask for payment before they start work. The questions page has the rest.