Houston: Texas Officials have urged coastal residents to prepare for the storm’s imminent impact. berylIt was a tropical storm on Saturday but was expected to intensify again. hurricane It displays its strength as it moves through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane warnings were declared for a portion of the state’s coast from Baffin Bay southward. Corpus Christito Sargent, south of Houston, and forecasters said the storm’s center would likely move toward the state Sunday and make landfall the next day. Storm surge warnings also were in effect.
“We’re hoping the storm will hit land somewhere.” Texas Coast If the current forecast is correct, a storm could hit anytime on Monday,” said Senior Hurricane Specialist Jack Beven. National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If it happens, it will likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”
The first hurricane to develop into a Category 5 storm in the Atlantic, Beryl killed at least 11 people as it passed the Caribbean islands earlier this week. It then slammed into Mexico as a Category 2 storm, knocking down trees but causing no injuries or deaths, before weakening to a tropical storm as it passed the Yucatan Peninsula.
Texas officials have warned people throughout the coastal region to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and strong winds as the storm approaches.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor during Gov. Greg Abbott’s visit to Taiwan, has issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.
“Beryl is a confirmed storm, and the winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans in Beryl’s path now and over the next 24 hours as it moves across the state,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.
Some coastal cities in Texas called for voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the July 4 holiday weekend to remove recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Matagorda County spokesman Mitch Thames said Saturday that officials had issued a voluntary evacuation request for coastal areas of the county, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston, to alert people expected to draw large numbers of visitors to the area over the holiday weekend.
“I certainly don’t want to ruin a holiday weekend for our visitors. But at the same time, our number one goal is the health and safety of all of our visitors and certainly our residents. I’m not so worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to it, they understand it,” Thames said.
Officials in Corpus Christi asked visitors to reduce their trips and return home early if possible. Officials also asked residents to secure their homes by closing windows if necessary and using sandbags to avoid potential flooding.
“We’re taking the storm very seriously and asking the community to take it very seriously as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said at a news conference Friday evening.
At Ace Hardware in Corpus Christi, traffic has been steady over the past three days as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They are just worried about the wind and the rain. They want to be prepared for any situation,” he said.
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of the Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said there’s “definitely a lot of buzz about the coming storm” and that customers are stocking up on food — especially meat and beer.
“I’ve heard there’s some talk about people having hurricane parties,” he said by telephone Saturday.
Officials in Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast, issued a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for 6,700 residents.
Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter, the county’s top elected official, said she decided to call for mandatory evacuations because of growing confidence in Beryl’s path and uncertainty about the storm’s intensity and road congestion heading into the holiday weekend.
“I would rather be cautious and let Tropical Storm Beryl come into empty Refugio County with little rain and little wind than have it become more powerful than forecasts, as we know has happened with many storms in the past,” Poynter said in a video posted on Facebook.
As of Saturday night, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi with maximum wind speeds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
Beryl devastated Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados this week before hitting Mexico and moving into the Gulf. Officials said three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
Mexican authorities evacuated some tourists and residents from low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but thousands remained, braving high winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards (meters) above sea level.
Power was knocked out as the storm came ashore, plunging the city into darkness. Strong winds set off car alarms throughout the city. Wind and rain continued to lash the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades were patrolling the tourist town’s streets, clearing fallen trees and power lines. There were no reports of deaths or injuries.
Hurricane warnings were declared for a portion of the state’s coast from Baffin Bay southward. Corpus Christito Sargent, south of Houston, and forecasters said the storm’s center would likely move toward the state Sunday and make landfall the next day. Storm surge warnings also were in effect.
“We’re hoping the storm will hit land somewhere.” Texas Coast If the current forecast is correct, a storm could hit anytime on Monday,” said Senior Hurricane Specialist Jack Beven. National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If it happens, it will likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”
The first hurricane to develop into a Category 5 storm in the Atlantic, Beryl killed at least 11 people as it passed the Caribbean islands earlier this week. It then slammed into Mexico as a Category 2 storm, knocking down trees but causing no injuries or deaths, before weakening to a tropical storm as it passed the Yucatan Peninsula.
Texas officials have warned people throughout the coastal region to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and strong winds as the storm approaches.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor during Gov. Greg Abbott’s visit to Taiwan, has issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.
“Beryl is a confirmed storm, and the winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans in Beryl’s path now and over the next 24 hours as it moves across the state,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.
Some coastal cities in Texas called for voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the July 4 holiday weekend to remove recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Matagorda County spokesman Mitch Thames said Saturday that officials had issued a voluntary evacuation request for coastal areas of the county, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston, to alert people expected to draw large numbers of visitors to the area over the holiday weekend.
“I certainly don’t want to ruin a holiday weekend for our visitors. But at the same time, our number one goal is the health and safety of all of our visitors and certainly our residents. I’m not so worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to it, they understand it,” Thames said.
Officials in Corpus Christi asked visitors to reduce their trips and return home early if possible. Officials also asked residents to secure their homes by closing windows if necessary and using sandbags to avoid potential flooding.
“We’re taking the storm very seriously and asking the community to take it very seriously as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said at a news conference Friday evening.
At Ace Hardware in Corpus Christi, traffic has been steady over the past three days as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They are just worried about the wind and the rain. They want to be prepared for any situation,” he said.
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of the Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said there’s “definitely a lot of buzz about the coming storm” and that customers are stocking up on food — especially meat and beer.
“I’ve heard there’s some talk about people having hurricane parties,” he said by telephone Saturday.
Officials in Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast, issued a mandatory evacuation order Saturday for 6,700 residents.
Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter, the county’s top elected official, said she decided to call for mandatory evacuations because of growing confidence in Beryl’s path and uncertainty about the storm’s intensity and road congestion heading into the holiday weekend.
“I would rather be cautious and let Tropical Storm Beryl come into empty Refugio County with little rain and little wind than have it become more powerful than forecasts, as we know has happened with many storms in the past,” Poynter said in a video posted on Facebook.
As of Saturday night, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi with maximum wind speeds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
Beryl devastated Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados this week before hitting Mexico and moving into the Gulf. Officials said three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
Mexican authorities evacuated some tourists and residents from low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but thousands remained, braving high winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards (meters) above sea level.
Power was knocked out as the storm came ashore, plunging the city into darkness. Strong winds set off car alarms throughout the city. Wind and rain continued to lash the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades were patrolling the tourist town’s streets, clearing fallen trees and power lines. There were no reports of deaths or injuries.
