Harris County Judge Ed Emmett joined KTRH's Michael Berry to talk about the storm and recovery efforts moving forward.
"Biggest concern is how do we get people back into their neighborhoods as soon as possible. We've got a lot of people (who) can't go back into their homes, but with the kids starting school next Tuesday in a lot of places, I just think it's vitally important for those kids to be in the schools they're supposed to be in."
Judge Emmett says more than a half-million vehicles have been destroyed by Harvey in Harris County alone.
Evacuees are gradually moving toward NRG center as Red Cross shelters and the George R. Brown Convention Center close:
"This is unlike - well, I hate to even say the word Katrina and the Dome - but it's totally unlike that because these people want to go home. They don't want to be in a shelter for very long. And we saw that (Wednesday); there were people who literally... had been pulled out of floodwaters, brought there on a bus, showered, cleaned up, had a hot meal or two, and first thing they wanted to do was get somebody to pick them up and take them somewhere."
He's also satisfied with the initial response from state and emergency managers:
"Some things happened that it wasn't their fault. We ended up having to do all the supplies for the shelter that FEMA was supposed to do, but they had it on trucks and the trucks couldn't get in. It's hard to blame them for that; it was headed our way in a timely way, but the highways were just impassible. They were already on the ground; they have already signed up 260,000... for people who had registered for FEMA assistance. They have already provided some assistance to about 90,000... Everybody's real happy and smiling now, but if things bog down on the recovery and getting help a week or two from now, the glow's gonna wear off."