Rockport, Texas (CNN) Almost three days after Hurricane Harvey thundered through, this coastal town looks like the victim of an apocalypse.

Rockport remains without electricity, with no indication of when residents will get power back. There's no running water. There's very limited cellphone service, and residents wander the streets looking for a signal.

Boats in the marina lie partially submerged. Rubble is everywhere, littering the streets. Some buildings have been knocked completely flat. Others are missing their roofs.

Swaths of Rockport are completely isolated, their roads blocked by debris and downed trees. Some neighborhoods are eerily deserted.

Residents of Rockport, Texas return to their damaged homes after Hurricane Harvey hit.

As epic flooding in Houston keeps the nation riveted, residents of southeast coastal Texas are assessing their own damage. This Gulf community was dealt a direct hit late Friday when Harvey battered the coast with 130 mph winds and heavy rain.

People here have been venturing out to see what's left. Some were lucky. For others, it's devastating.

Riding out the storm

Rockport is about a three-hour drive southwest of Houston and is home to about 10,000 people. It draws tourists who want to visit its beach or fish in nearby Aransas Bay.

An estimated 60% of people in Rockport hunkered down and rode out the hurricane, said Michael Lugo, squad leader for the Texas Task Force 1, which has been conducting search and rescue operations here.

Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he describes how Harvey destroyed most of his Rockport home.

Some even took cover in their boats, docked in the local marina. Those who did told CNN how terrifying it was when Harvey came in, and how they thought it would never end.

Many said they didn't believe the storm would be this bad, and that they would never stay home to ride out a storm again.

Infrastructure crippled

Those in need have found it's been almost impossible to contact anyone for assistance because the town's infrastructure is in shambles.

The first day after the storm, cellphone service was essentially non-existent. Residents would drive to nearby Highway 35 and climb an overpass to try and make a call.

The city's water treatment plant, which made it through the storm undamaged, is currently inoperable because it lost power. Officials say electricity and other infrastructure repairs may be weeks away.

One official with the Texas Emergency Task Force told CNN Sunday that 10 buses took "several hundred" evacuees out of Rockport. Most were headed for Corpus Christi or Austin.

Aaron Tobias stands in what is left of his home in Rockport on Saturday. Tobias said he and his family lost everything in the storm.

But his dad wasn't there. Aaron Mitchell said Monday he walked some 12 miles to Rockport from Aransas Pass to check on his father.But his dad wasn't there.

"There's been no cell service since Thursday, Friday. I haven't gotten a hold of anybody," Mitchell told CNN's Nick Valencia, wiping tears from his eyes. "If my mom and dad's watching, I'm okay."

Mitchell later learned his father had been safely relocated to Austin and was planning to take a bus to join him there.

"This is my first hurricane, so, yeah, I'm scared," Mitchell said. "My trailer was just bouncing up and down."

Other residents are pleading for financial aid.

"You know, I see all these little fundraisers for all these other places," Rockport resident Joe Kirchens told CNN Monday morning. "We need it here."

'Texans have yet to learn submission'

Stephen Sample lives in nearby Fulton, just north of Rockport. CNN's Martin Savidge spoke to him as he attempted to shore up his home before it collapsed.

Sample had lived in the home for 30 years, he said. As the storm approached, he was able to evacuate to San Antonio.

He saw glimpses of his home in a YouTube video posted by a storm chaser, he said, and that gave him hope. But when he returned to Fulton, he discovered the house is completely unlivable.

Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Downtown Houston is seen behind the flooded Buffalo Bayou a few days after Hurricane Harvey came ashore in August 2017. The Category 4 storm caused historic flooding. It set a record for the most rainfall from a tropical cyclone in the continental United States, with 51 inches of rain recorded in areas of Texas. An estimated 27 trillion gallons of water fell over Texas and Louisiana during a six-day period. Hide Caption 1 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed Hurricane Harvey from the International Space Station. Hide Caption 2 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Steve Culver comforts his dog Otis in the hurricane aftermath. Harvey destroyed most of his home in Rockport while he and his wife were there. Hide Caption 3 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Houston police officer Daryl Hudeck carries Catherine Pham and her 13-month-old son, Aiden, after rescuing them from floodwaters. Hide Caption 4 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A damaged home is seen in the Key Allegro neighborhood of Rockport. Hide Caption 5 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A car is submerged by floodwaters on a freeway near downtown Houston. Hide Caption 6 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas. Hide Caption 7 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas A graveyard is flooded in Pearland, Texas. Hide Caption 8 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Soldiers with the National Guard patrol Rockport, looking for residents trapped in their homes. Hide Caption 9 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Evacuees are loaded onto a truck in Houston. Hide Caption 10 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston. Hide Caption 11 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Rockport residents return to their destroyed home. Hide Caption 12 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Rescue boats fill Tidwell Road in Houston as they help flood victims evacuate the area. Hide Caption 13 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas People wait to be rescued from their flooded home in Houston. Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteers in Dallas organize items donated for hurricane victims. Hide Caption 15 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas When Harvey slammed the Texas coast and flooded much of Houston, volunteers sprang into action. Some came from as far away as the Florida Everglades, boats in tow, ready to rescue people trapped in their homes. Hide Caption 16 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Larry Koser Jr. and his son Matthew look for important papers and heirlooms inside a flooded home in Houston. Hide Caption 17 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Members of the National Guard rest at a furniture store in Richmond, Texas. Hide Caption 18 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Volunteer rescue workers help a woman from her flooded home in Port Arthur, Texas. Hide Caption 19 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas This aerial photo shows flooded residential neighborhoods in Houston. Hide Caption 20 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas Tammy Dominguez and her husband, Christopher, sleep on cots at the George R. Brown Convention Center, where thousands of people were taking shelter in Houston. Hide Caption 21 of 22 Photos: Hurricane Harvey slams Texas An elderly patient waits to be rescued from the Gulf Health Care Center in Port Arthur. The facility was evacuated with the help of first responders and volunteers. Hide Caption 22 of 22

Brick walls have toppled and the second story has been ripped open and exposed to the elements, but Sample said he was determined to rebuild.

When asked if he intended to stay, he quoted Sam Houston, the 19th century Texas governor: "Texans have yet to learn submission from any oppressor."

"That includes hurricanes," Sample added.

Survivor's guilt

Marie Ernest, who lives in a mobile home park outside of Rockport, said her unit was the only one in the park that wasn't destroyed.

She feels a little guilty about it, she said. The high winds turned her neighbors' trailers over or tore off their roofs.

As the storm came in, she peeked out the cracks in the boards that covered her windows.

"The wind was going sideways, and the rain looked like a fire hydrant," she said.

A boat lies crippled Saturday in Rockport's marina in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Ernest and her husband lent their generator to an elderly man who was in hospice care and on an electric-powered oxygen machine, so he would have oxygen until the paramedics arrived.

But when it was over, they found out they'd been lucky.

"We prepped and we prayed and we hoped for the best," she said. "And the best happened."

'We're going to rebuild it'

Rockport officials are encouraging residents who stayed behind to leave while they begin repairing the city's infrastructure.

A damaged home in Rockport, Texas, the day after Hurricane Harvey reached shore.

And to those who did evacuate? Officials are telling them to stay away from Rockport for the same reason.

But the people here who spoke to CNN seemed determined that Rockport would recover.

"This place is beautiful. It's a wonderful place," Kirchens said. "We're going to rebuild it, but we need help."