After tropical storm Harvey, Texans rush to buy new cars As Houston residents contend with flooded homes and lost belongings in the upheaval left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, many face another urgent priority: getting a new car. As many as a half million cars were washed away or irreparably deluged after the storm dumped a year's worth of water on the city in a matter of days. FILE IMAGES of flooded cars in Texas during tropical storm Harvey