"It was incredible, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone," says Beathard, agency principal of Beathard Insurance and Texas’ National Director for the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA). "Where I live, in a 72-hour period we received about 32 inches of rain.

“That's a heck of a lot of rain," he adds, with some needed good humor.

Self-described as a “cut-to-the-chase” kind of guy, Beathard doesn’t mince words when asked how he got started in the insurance industry. "I needed a job," he quips.

Beathard became involved with Texas PIA around 2002, and Texas PIA president around 2008. He currently has a staff of 12 throughout his four Texas offices — two in Crown, one in Huntsville, and one in Willis.

Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas on Friday, Aug. 25. Days of relentless rain and high-powered winds sent numerous areas reeling in the Lone Star State. On Monday, Aug. 28, Beathard says nothing was moving, everything was flooded and no one was getting out except for emergency vehicles; on Tuesday, the rain continued to pour and people from in and out of state began to help the displaced. By Aug. 30, despite it all, the sun was out, the water had started to recede, and people were finally beginning to move around.

This week, "I think the story is still being played out,” he sighs.

Related: Can a debt-burdened flood program take on Hurricane Harvey?

Getting in front of a deluge of claims

A longtime insurance professional, Beathard knows it pays to be proactive in times of disaster. Following an extreme weather event, especially one of such magnitude, establishing communication with clients is priority one. For Beathard, his phone lines “have been burning up."

"We're trying to get in front of the backwash of claims,” he says, noting that his people have already spoken with some 400 insureds. Beathard estimates that he has handled about 88 claims so far and knows they'll continue to trickle in. The bulk of the claims to come will revolve around flood damage for property and physical damage claims for automobiles, he says, but Beathard expects to see a fair number of commercial property damage as well.

Like many others, Beathard is keeping himself occupied to move past the pain of the long road ahead. In addition to trying to run a business, he's reaching out to other agents and lending a helping hand wherever he can. "Whenever the telephone rings next," he says, he’ll be on deck to counsel his next client.

Conroe, which is located about 40 miles north of Houston — which received the brunt of Harvey's wrath — suffered considerable damage. In this city alone, there are three shelters and about 7,000 displaced individuals and families.

"Conroe was named the fastest growing city in the U.S. just two months ago," Beathard notes. It is full of hard-working people, the majority of them of middle-class income level. Not that income truly matters when a hurricane of Harvey’s magnitude comes crashing in.

"The flood didn't discriminate," says Beathard. "It didn't matter if you were wealthy, middle-class, poor, it didn't matter." Nor do trivial matters such as race or where you’re from, when it comes to helping your friends and neighbors during the recovery effort — which has only just begun. In many areas, the entire contents of people’s homes are piled high on the curb for garbage collection.

Texas may not have an immediate timetable for recovery, but Beathard remains positive.

"We feel like we'll rally and we'll come back from this," he says, pridefully. "Life in this part of Texas is slowly but surely returning to normal. It may take us many years to get where we were, but we'll be here."

Related: Hurricane threat grows for Florida as Irma gains strength