The area is called the Big Thicket and for good reason. There's nothing but forest out here. There's a huge timber industry here and so there are many, many pine trees.  Pine trees tend to do okay in high winds because they bend instead of break, and they have long tap roots that keep them in place.  I've seen the tops of them touch the ground before without anything happen.  It's when a tornado comes through and they get twisted that they start breaking, like here. This used to be a forest, but if you look, all the trees are laying in one direction (North-South) and have either been twisted off about halfway up (look for the white tops) or just uprooted.  This was about 30 miles inland.