Hurricane Celia 1970 - The Days After

[HilltopHomestead]

My grandparents lived in Ingleside at the time. We went inland I believe to Victoria. I was 3 then and remember not wanting to go into the house because I was afraid a tree would fall on it. That is really all I remember. My grandparents house faired well. My grandfather had to retrieve his boat from down the road.

[superjtrdr]

I remember hearing the house frame squeak every time a 160 mph gust came through. Our house was on the verge of falling. W pulled together as a community. Our street was one big family. True survival involves interdependence.

[Vanmanic]

I was almost 11 and living out in Clarkwood when Ceila came to town. The destruction was absolute. We took a tour afterwards from Robstown to Rockport and those memories will be engrained on my mind for life. I clearly recall the boats piled into a corner in AP and the oil tank floated across 35. I was awestruck by it all and there was plenty to see.. My mind drifted back to this storm and how my father must have felt as I sat in my stairwell here when Ike came in. Thanks for the footage. :D

[dhn305]

Thank you for this video. After seeing the weather people name another hurricane Celia this year, I wanted to look and see what videos might be out there. I was in CC in a house where the roof went flying off and we could see our neighbors roof fly off at about the same time. We were without electricity for 2 weeks. I have been through other hurricanes, but never like Celia.

[WINDYGAY]

So sad. I lived in S.F. and had no idea what a hurricaine really was. Since then I was in 18 in 22 months. Now I know!

[JIAUBRY]

WOW! I was 4yrs old and lived on Urban St in CC when this happened. My father also let us go outside during calm times. I remember parts and pieces of houses floating by the front on the yard. Luckily the only damage our house had was a broken window from a fallen tree. I just experianced Ike a while back and it brought back a lot of memories.

[Exzeluke]

I remember the roof of our barn lifting off, frame & all, and flying over our house & down the street. The wind was clocked at 173mph. The storm was short & by 4pm the sun was shining & all was calm. We drove around Corpus & could not believe our eyes. Boats upside down on the street, roofs gone, fences gone, about every pane of glass in downtown buildings shattered, wires & poles down everywhere. Everyone talks about Hurricane Carla, which I also went through, but Celia was 100 times worse.

[juchjaju1965]

I lived in Corpus when Celia hit we were placed in the cotton geans thousand of people it was terrible.

When they open the doors so more people could come in you could see all kind of things flying by sofas bikes tires and when it was over and we were let out well thats when the nightmare started and we lived thru it.

[FAST70442]

I remember living thru that storm at my grandmother's house near 20th and Agnes. I was 16 and stood under the front porch and watched debris sail sideways past the house. I saw a building across the street get peeled away piece by piece, It was absolutely amazing. My grand-ma's house was so well built you hardly heard the storm in the middle room of the house. This video sure brought memories back of a powerful storm. I never ever want to go thru a storm of that intensity again ever! ! !

[JimPrewitt]

Hey Dash...Was Charlie on the sauce?

[celya12]

my name is celia, but its spelled celya

[cel1268910]

@celya12 Awwk come on!!!

My name is Celia,Exactly like this Hurricane. =(

[celya12]

@cel1268910

[celya12]

@cel1268910 . well i guess my parents wanted 2 be different. but i like the way my name is spelled. it unique 2 me

[autoseller55]

I was in this hurricane in 1970 Corpus Christi and was 15 years old. The pictures are nothing compared to the actual damage that I remember. We stayed there during Celia and were on Savage Lane by Up River Road.

[estherlem]

Thanks for posting the video. I lost my sister and her 2 children in Aransas Pass. No one elses' house got destroyed. I guess God was calling her and her children to his home. 2 other people were in the same house, and they survived. It was just my sister's time. The site never leaves my memory and every year I remember and say a prayer. I would sure like to know who the other people were that were in the house. All I know that is was a father and his teenage daughter.

[stormnormantrent]

I lived in this house around 1960. I think the house was totally destroyed in the storm but the foundation is still there. I was 13 when Celia hit. We left during the eye and drove for about 5 miles to my uncles house. The amount of debris and destruction was unimaginable. My dad had to weave the car around power lines still live and sparking. The skys were blue and the wind was non-existent. Whe drove back home after it was over to find that our house was still there, thankfully.

[guccigurl1231]

my grandpa did this! i like it ! its cool

[Splice]

I was 9 when Celia blew through CC. We lived in the Bluff. Mom was dating a Navy officer and we ended up staying in his BOQ on the base. He became my stepfather in September. Man it was hard. No electricity, no water, oppressive heat.

[ebbonorden]

I remember my dad told me the story about how he delivered ice after the hurricane hit and went to his friends house and found them all...they never even saw it coming. I hope we never have to go through anything like that again...

[Stonefreetx]

I was a 19 yr old shrimper at the time. I was living on Surfside Beach. The day before the hurricane hit, me and my buddy surfed the biggest waves I had seen on the Texas coast.

[ittybittybit]

The back side of the hurricane was worse than the starting of it. But we were blessed the only major damage we received was a large tree limb through a bedroom window. We had to walk every where we went for several days because of so many streets flooded. It was so hot and humid no elect. no way to keep the milk cool for the baby. Finally they started bringing in large trucks of huge blocked ice. It certainly isn't any thing I would want anyone to go through.

[ittybittybit]

oh my gosh, Celia! I was 19 at the time with a two and a half month old baby. The worst storm ever for me. Never do I want to go through any thing even close to that again. The eye of the storm was the most memorable to me. So ominous was the eye of this hurricane, dark and still, eerie. I went outside while the eye was going over I don't remember how long it lasted, but it seemed forever, then the bad side hit. When it all passed there were huge boats sitting in downtown Corpus Christi....

[mrsblade]

i will never forget this storm. i was 4 yrs old. we lived in the trailer park just outside of NAS. i remember going to building 10 on base. one of my siblings picked me up so i could see out the window. our boat was dumped upside down on ocean drive and our car lost all its windows. the paint was sand blasted off. we had to put beach towels in the seats so we could sit in the car. in the tailer park almost all the mobile homes were upside down. ours didnt even look like it was hit.

[dnr1701]

I also remember building 10. My father was stationed at the Naval Air Station. It was kind of scary; I was only 6 at the time. But Ill never forget it. I live in Nebraska now, and we get tornados. The problem with tornados, you dont get as much advanced noticed.

[mrsblade]

my dad was stationed there too. the people at bldg 10 almost didnt let us bring our dog into the bldg. they wanted us to leave him in the car. i know what you mean about tornado's. i've lived in dallas, amarillo, and now tulsa. those suckers just show up when they want to.

[dispatchintx501]

Wow, that was awesome, we lived in Corpus when Celia hit, I was only 1 year old so I don't remember it, but my grandpa bought a book afterward, with info and pics in it I still have to this day. And with one in gulf now (Gustav Aug 2008)just waiting to see where he goes, I am now living about 50 miles N/E of Corpus, not looking good for La, another Katrina affect ....

[YulNevanomi]

I'll never forget the whistling...seemed to go on forever.

[YulNevanomi]

And the Ingleside oil tank fire lighting up the sky across the bay at night.

[hdbrock34]

Wow, I remember seeing Aransas Pass after Celia. I was 6, but I'll never forget it. I wish I could find something like this showing AP. This is priceless - thanks for sharing with everyone.

[ThePrimeDirective]

I lived in Corpus Christi at the time of Celia (4 yrs old). I still remember Celia. My Dad allowed us to go outside when the eye passed over. It was an experience. I remember the days after the Celia going to my Dad's insurance office and watching him write claim checks with the deiling tile lying wet all around his desk.  Back during that time, no one left town during hurricanes and Celia was a strong 3. I still remember seeing debris from Celia on the shoreline off of Ocean Drive in '85.

[dunn2dunn2]

I watched this and the music just brought me to tears. The old 8mm camera...reminds me of my Dad! I remember Celia all too well. I survived the collapse of the old Odem High School and getting lost/separated from my parents during the mad rush to the gymnasium when the eye passed over us...I was only 5. We moved away to Michigan and started over...but I came back and now Corpus Christi is HOME! Yeah, I am a nervous freak when these things are out there!I also remember there were no more dunes.

[annmarra]

Thank you for sharing this i remember all too well the hurricane .I remember waking uo and seeing Charlie St John .I was 6 and was terrified by the eye .

[Dashtx]

I was working in the newsroom at KIII where Charlie worked. Celia blew down our tower and it crushed City Manager Marvin Townsend's car parked behind our building. I'll never forget that day and night either.

[freddyjones23]

Oh wow, does this bring back memories...we were living at NAS Corpus Christi when Celia came in. At first, they thought that Houston would get the brunt of the storm, but she swung 180 degrees west in the middle of the night. MP's went door-to-door to warn everyone. We scrammed to Oklahoma, and I'll never forget the damage when we got back home. The base was DEVASTATED,and we never found the roof to our house. We stayed in damaged housing unit that easily flooded for 2mos.A landmark of my life.

[01603520]

Thanks for putting this on You tube. I lived in Corpus Christi at the time and was 11 yrs old. I remember it well. I thought we were going to die. We had family in Aransas Pass that lost their homes. Terrible storm.

[VeriSheri]

It is so hard to see beautiful Port Aransas devestated like this. One has to see it to believe it! This is truly historic footage.

[vmax135]

Wow! Excellent historical damage footage. It's rare to come by images from Celia's landfall...let alone video. At the time, understanding the dynamics of rapidly intensifying hurricanes, like Celia, was just beginning. The extreme wind damage the storm produced is clearly evident in your home movies. Thanks for posting it.