Victoria residents struggle to find supplies, basic necessities

VICTORIA, Texas - As the flooding disaster unfolds in Houston, people along the coastal bend of Texas are just beginning to cope with the devastation left behind by Harvey.

Entire cities remain without power, water and the basic necessities. The largest is Victoria, a city of 63,000 people.

“From what they are saying, the 1998 flood and this might be worse than that,” said Brandon Chavez, who is in search of supplies. “I'm pretty scared. I'm pretty nervous.”

There are frayed nerves in Victoria, where tens of thousands are left with torn up homes and without the very basics. They are still bracing for worse as rain continues to fall.

Ben Chavez has a 5-month-old at home.

“Hopefully finding more food,” he said. “And being told electricity could be two weeks before we get it back on. And that's my biggest concern is my boy.”

For those lucky enough to get their hands on remaining generators, they'll have to be even luckier to find gas. But for all the hardship, there's a helping hand.

HEB has opened their doors and were handing out a hot meal and free cases of water.

“We don't have no water to flush our toilets or to take a shower,” said Alexandra Arredondo. “So we have to use the water from outside to collect it or the water that we use to drink.

It was something so basic to show the fabric of a community even as Harvey continues to rear his ugly head.

“For us to see our community like this, it's heartbreaking,” Arredondo said. “But it's very heartwarming as well to see the community coming together.”

“A little bit too late to go anywhere,” Chavez said. “We are going to try to stick it out and do what we can do.”

The city is under curfew from Sunday night to Monday morning.

Officials warn it could be weeks until power is restored. They urge everyone in the area to have enough water for the next several days.