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By
Mike Stuart @
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 4:28 PM |
Officials fear Dolly could break Rio Grande levees
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 22, 2008; 4:42 PM
McALLEN, Texas -- Coastal officials worried Tuesday that Tropical Storm Dolly may bring so much rain that flooding could break through the levees holding back the Rio Grande.
Officials urged residents to move away from the levees because if Dolly continues to follow the same path as 1967's Hurricane Beulah, "the levees are not going to hold that much water," said Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Johnny Cavazos.
The first bands of rain began to pass over South Padre Island Tuesday afternoon and the surf continued to get rougher. Forecasters predicted Dolly would dump 15 to 20 inches of rain and bring coastal storm surge flooding of 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide levels.
Hurricane warnings were in effect from Brownsville north to Corpus Christi, and in Mexico, from Rio San Fernando north to the U.S. border. Tropical storm warnings were issued for surrounding areas, and the governor has declared 14 counties disasters, allowing state resources to be used to send equipment and emergency workers needed to the areas in the storm's path.
Forecasters said Dolly was expected to make land late Tuesday or early Wednesday as a hurricane with sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph. The storm, combined with levees that have deteriorated in the 41 years since Beulah swept up the Rio Grande, pose a major flooding threat to low-lying counties along the border. Beulah spawned more than 100 tornadoes across Texas and dumped 36 inches of rain in some parts of South Texas, killing 58 people and causing more than $1 billion damage.
"We could have a triple-decker problem here," Cavazos told a meeting of more than 100 county and local officials Tuesday. "We believe that those (levees) will be breached if it continues on the same track. So please stay away from those levees."
Much of the damage to New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina was from levee breaks instead of wind. Levee breaches in the Midwest made river flooding far more damaging than it would have been earlier this summer.
People in the warning areas have little time left to complete their preparations, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.
"They need to get that done like now. Weather conditions will be deteriorating rapidly later this (Tuesday) afternoon and tonight," he said.
Lines grew at centers giving out sandbags in the Rio Grande Valley. In Brownsville, a utility began draining its resacas _ ponds and lakes formed by old bends in the Rio Grande _ last week to prepare for rain.
In neighboring inland Hidalgo County, officials put out a call for volunteers to man five shelters that it planned to open for residents fleeing coastal counties.
The Navy began flying 104 of its aircraft out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to bases inland, said air station spokesman Bob Torres. Other aircraft will be sheltered on base in hangars and no evacuation was planned.
Those who planned to ride out the storm shopped for supplies at a Wal-Mart in Edinburg, 15 miles from the Mexican border. But the store didn't have the wall-to-wall shoppers like the night before. Kerri Urdaz, 31, of McAllen loaded ice, water and batteries into her car, while her 2-year-old daughter Claire watched from the shopping cart.
"It wasn't too bad," Urdaz said of the last-minute shopping. "That's why we woke up and came in early before the rush."
Jesus Gil was lifting large coolers into the back of his pickup truck and had bought flashlights and batteries, bracing for the storm at both work and home.
"I'm just trying to be prepared," said Gil, who was in Houston in 2005 for the Hurricane Rita evacuation. He doesn't plan to leave this time, but bought extra gas just in case.
Maj. Jose Rivera of the Texas Army National Guard said troops were preparing at armories in Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Gov. Rick Perry called up 1,200 troops to help and issued the disaster declaration in the South Texas counties.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement readied its Port Isabel and Willacy detention centers, but had not yet decided if evacuation would be necessary, said spokeswoman Nina Pruneda. Buses were loaded with supplies and kitchens prepared sack meals.
In the Gulf of Mexico, Shell Oil evacuated workers from oil rigs, but said it didn't expect its production to be affected by the storm.
Other areas are bracing for at least a tropical storm with warnings issued from Port O'Connor to San Luis Pass, south of Galveston in Texas and from La Pesca to Rio San Fernando in Mexico.
Mexican border towns near the Gulf coast were setting up shelters and soldiers were also being sent into Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, to protect against looting.
On South Padre Island, vacationers packed up their camps and headed for the mainland.
About 40 children and staff at a summer camp were heading north to San Antonio.
"We're not taking any chances with these kids," said Rabbi Asher Hecht, director of the Lubavitch Camp Gan Israel.
Just across the causeway in Port Isabel, residents were gathering supplies and boarding up windows. Not one to take chances, Larry Haines pulled out the plywood for the first time in years, boarding up his waterside art gallery.
"We're just worried about flying debris breaking through the windows," Haines said. "We're not too worried about storm surge and other things you get from a bigger storm, but we're going to board up anyway."
Also Tuesday, Fresenius Medical Care was preparing to close six dialysis clinics, which serve about 900 patients in the Rio Grande Valley.
Other parts of Texas, stricken by drought, watched Dolly expectantly, with as much as 4 inches forecast to fall by the time the storm's eastern edge sweeps across the region, said Texas A&M University's John Nielsen-Gammon, the state's climatologist.
About 20 counties in the northern part of South Texas _ which includes San Antonio and nearby counties to the north, south and east _ are behind in annual rainfall by between 12 and 16 inches, he said.
"If you get that much (rain) in two days there'd be flooding," he said. "Weather never gives you ideal stuff. This is certainly not going to be an exception to that. The best to hope for from this is a temporary reprieve from the dry conditions." |
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By
Bob H. @
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:13 AM |
First, let us pray that nobody is hurt or killed from Dolly, and that property damage is minimal.
Still, it seems likely that there will be significant property damage, and much of the beach will be washed away. Assuming that happens, Alice it would be useful if you put a special section on your website for property owners not interested in standing in line to get a vulture contractor to repair their property, don't believe the local authorities have the resources or political willpower to rebuild the beach, and just want to sell their property for whatever they can get. |
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By
Mike Stuart @
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 1:53 PM |
Hurricane Dolly making landfall
Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel 2:40 p.m. ET 7/23/2008
AS of 1 p.m. CDT, Hurricane Dolly has made landfall about 20 to 25 miles north of the town of South Padre Island or 35 miles northeast of Brownsville as a category two hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.
Even before the eye's official landfall, Dolly's western eyewall has been punishing interior and coastal South Texas for several hours now.
Although meandering at times, Dolly is moving onshore generally to the west-northwest at just 7 mph. The storm's latest pressure, measured by the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance plane, is at 967 millibars.
Nasty squalls of tropical downpours, tropical storm-force sustained winds, and hurricane-force gusts from Hurricane Dolly are rotating onshore along the far South Texas interior and coastline. Even with the eye making landfall, conditions will continue to be dangerous and miserable through the afternoon and tonight.
It should be emphasized that this will be a long duration event for South Texas due to Dolly's sluggish nature and impacts from Dolly will last well into Thursday.
For several hours Dolly's western eyewall has been sitting and spinning along the shoreline. Because of this, locations along the immediate coast such as Port Mansfield, Laguna Vista, Arroyo City, South Padre Island, and Port Isabel are all taking a pounding.
Other cities such as Brownsville, Harlingen, and Raymondville are also feeling the wrath of Dolly. All power is reported out on S. Padre Island while power lines and power poles are down in Brownsville, Harlingen, and Port Isabel.
A 72 mph wind gust was measured earlier this morning at Port Isabel, Texas. An unofficial observer east of Matamoros, Mexico recorded winds of 65 mph with gusts to 119 mph. Brownsville record a gust of 67 mph around 12 noon CT.
Waves are growing in height (generally 10 to 20 feet) as Dolly churns just offshore; crashing and punishing the shoreline. Because of Dolly's stubborn movement, severe beach erosion is becoming a major concern.
The expected storm surge, from Corpus Christi south to South Padre Island, is forecast to range from 3 to 5 feet.
The intense winds of Dolly will be damaging and in some cases destructive. Power outages and structural damage are likely especially for poorly-constructed houses and buildings. In fact, power outages are already occurring. However, because of the very slow forward movement of Dolly, it is quite possible that the most life-threatening impact from Dolly will eventually be the flooding rainfall.
Forecast amounts are expected to be in the 6 to 12 inch range in locations south of Corpus Christi through Brownsville and into northern Mexico. A few spots, especially in the northern Mexican mountains, could get as much as 15 inches. Flooding is almost a guarantee for several locations impacted by Dolly. The estimated 24-hour rainfall for extreme South Texas is already nearing 6 inches.
Hurricane warnings are in effect from Rio San Fernando in Mexico northward to Corpus Christi, Texas. Tropical storm warnings surround the hurricane warning area, with tropical storm warnings in effect in Mexico between Le Pesca and Rio San Fernando (where a hurricane watch is also in effect), and between Corpus Christi and Port O'Connor, Texas.
If you live in or are visiting a beach area of south Texas, heed the advice of local officials with regard to evacuations. Preparations for tropical storm force and hurricane force winds along with flooding rains should already be complete.
For the latest on the tropics, stay tuned to on weather.com.
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By
Mike Stuart @
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 5:03 PM |
Hurricane Dolly focus shifts to flooding
Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
5:58 p.m. ET 7/23/2008
Hurricane Dolly made landfall about 20 to 25 miles north of the town of South Padre Island or 35 miles northeast of Brownsville as a category two hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph at around 1 p.m. CDT.
Since landfall, as expected, because of land friction sustained winds from Dolly have dropped back to 85 mph; remaining a category 1 hurricane. The center of circulation is now located 50 miles north of Brownsville, Texas and moving to the northwest at 8 mph with an eventual turn to the west expected.
Even before the eye's official landfall, Dolly's eyewall punished interior and coastal South Texas beginning at the mid morning hours and the lashing continues into this evening.
Nasty squalls of tropical downpours, tropical storm-force sustained winds, and hurricane-force gusts (sometimes sustained) from Hurricane Dolly are spinning across far South Texas interior. Even with the eye making landfall, conditions will continue to be dangerous and miserable through tonight and into tomorrow morning.
It should be emphasized that this will be a long duration event for South Texas due to Dolly's sluggish nature and impacts from Dolly, especially flooding rainfall, will last well into Thursday.
Locations along the immediate coast such as Port Mansfield, Laguna Vista, Arroyo City, South Padre Island, and Port Isabel have all taken a pounding today.
Other cities such as Brownsville, Harlingen, and Raymondville ahave also felt the wrath of Dolly.
All power is reported out on S. Padre Island while power lines and power poles are down in Brownsville, Harlingen, and Port Isabel.
A 72 mph wind gust was measured earlier this morning at Port Isabel and extensive dock damage is being reported.
An unofficial observer east of Matamoros, Mexico recorded winds of 65 mph with gusts to 119 mph. Brownsville recorded a gust of 67 mph around 12 noon CT.
Port Mansfield has recorded a 76 mph gust with structural damage reported within the town. Roof shingles/tiles are being torn off in several communities.
Waves heights, between 10 and 20 feet, are crashing and punishing the shoreline. Because of Dolly's stubborn movement, severe beach erosion is becoming a major concern. Because Dolly is finally onshore, wave heights will finally begin to decrease.
Even with the extensive damage being reported, the most life-threatening impact from Dolly is becoming the prolific flooding rainfall.
Rain amounts are forecast to be in the 6 to 15 inch range in locations south of Corpus Christi through Brownsville and into northern Mexico. A majority of Cameron County, including the city of Harlingen, has already received an estimated 8 to 12" of rain. A few locales will receive close to 20 inches of rain. Flooding is a certainty in the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy. |
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By
Mike Stuart @
Thursday, July 24, 2008 8:23 PM |
Texas Granted Presidential Disaster Declaration
President George W. Bush today granted Gov. Perry’s request for a Major Presidential Disaster Declaration, which will provide assistance to 15 Texas counties. This afternoon, the governor and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn toured the impacted areas and were briefed by local officials regarding ongoing emergency response efforts as Tropical Storm Dolly continues to move slowly through south Texas.
"Though some areas in south Texas have incurred significant damage, preparedness efforts on the part of our local, state and federal officials and private sector partners ensured that our number one priority – protecting lives– was successfully met,” said Gov. Perry.
"As damage assessments begin, the state stands ready to help south Texas residents rebuild and restore their homes, businesses and communities.”
The Major Presidential Disaster Declaration covers Aransas, Bexar, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Victoria and Willacy counties.
While decisions on individual federal assistance requests cannot be made until damage assessments are conducted, the declaration does include public assistance for emergency protective measures taken before, during and after the disaster, including:
* Warning devices such as barricades, signs and announcements
* Search and rescue efforts
* Security forces such as police and guards
* Construction of temporary levees
* Provision of shelters or emergency care
* Sandbagging
* Bracing/shoring damaged structures
* Provision of food, water, ice and other essential needs
* Emergency repairs
* Emergency demolition
* Removal of health and safety hazards
* Emergency communications, emergency access and emergency public transportation costs may also be eligible.
Expanded public assistance also must await joint state federal damage assessments.
To date, Texas has taken the following actions:
Public Utility Commission: The PUC is working to restore power (or establish generator power) for critical care facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, shelters and public safety facilities. More than 200,000 homes and businesses are currently without power. PUC has asked customers who still have power to conserve electricity while crews are restoring service to other customers.
Texas Military Forces: 700 of 1,200 activated national guardsmen are currently assisting with response and recovery efforts, in addition to an incident management team and six UH-60s.
Texas Engineering and Extension Service: Texas Task Force 1 currently has swift water teams located in several South Texas counties and performed numerous rescues overnight and continue to do so today, assisting local officials, as needed. Texas Task Force 2 has also been deployed.
Texas Department of Agriculture: With approval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, TDA responded to requests for food in Laredo and Hidalgo County, including a request from Congressman Ruben Hinojosa. After determining the areas most in need, TDA sent a truckload of USDA-donated commodities for a shelter operating in Laredo and another truckload for shelters operating in Hidalgo County. TDA also has food available to feed a growing number of evacuees being sheltered in the Laredo Civic Center. TDA shipped another truckload of food from San Antonio to the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in McAllen where 2,179 people are being housed in 10 shelters.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice: Power has been restored to the Lopez and Segovia facilities, which had been operating on generators after electric outages.
Texas Department of Transportation: Widespread flooding continues to obstruct travel in the Rio Grande Valley. TxDOT crews are assessing roads and bridges and repairing damage to signal lights and signs. TxDOT has received reports of electrical transmission lines down, signal lights out, water and debris on roadways in the Rio Grande Valley. Many major and minor roadways are impassable. The Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge to South Padre Island in Cameron County has reopened. Cleanup and recovery operations have begun. TxDOT crews from the Yoakum, San Antonio and Corpus Christi Districts have been deployed to the Rio Grande Valley to assist with cleanup and recovery operations. The agency’s road condition hotline will be staffed with live travel counselors until at least 9 p.m. CDT today. TxDOT personnel are monitoring road and bridge conditions across South Texas and the Coastal Bend to determine whether storm damage presents a threat to travel.
Department of Information Resources: Partners (Unisys, Maintech and PTG perspective) are on standby to assist any agencies impacted by the hurricane. The Data Center has successfully completed backups for all remote locations for all systems including DSHS, TxDOT and HHSC.
Department of Insurance: The Consumer Protection Division has scheduled daily calls with the insurance industry to discuss conditions and issues on the ground. A decision will be made later today about when and where to deploy TDI insurance specialists.
Texas Animal Health Commission: Texas Animal Health Commission livestock health inspectors and animal care personnel from the Houston SPCA will begin damage assessments for livestock and small animal issues Friday with the three incident management teams in the area.
Texas Education Agency: Schools in the lower Rio Grande Valley opened their doors to hundreds of evacuees, providing them with shelter and food. Schools in the Brownsville Independent School District, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD, Edinburg Consolidated ISD and La Joya ISD are among those serving as shelters.
Texas Department of Public Safety: Highway Patrol day and night units are escorting food, water and assets throughout affected areas and assisting with other requests. Troopers are escorting supplies to the main staging area in Weslaco. Highway Patrol managers have been sent to DPS Communications offices to ensure DPS communication systems are working well throughout the Valley. DPS helicopters from McAllen, Houston and Austin are also working the area and assisting as needed.
Texas Youth Commission: The Tamayo Halfway House in Harlingen remains closed, and the 13 youth residents and necessary accompanying staff have been temporarily relocated to the York Halfway House in Corpus Christi. The Harlingen Parole Office also remains closed today. The Beto Halfway House in McAllen lost power and phone service, and staff are working with local authorities to reestablish the services. All youth are safe and the facility is secure without damage. There is no flooding in the area. The Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg and York Halfway House in Corpus Christi are secure and all youth are safe.
Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services: DARS is standing by to provide support, such as interpretation services in shelters, as needed.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: The TCEQ Emergency Response Strike Team, consisting of 16 trained individuals with a mobile command post, a Lab/GIS trailer, and a communications trailer, has deployed to the Valley. The Strike Team is will assess damage caused by Hurricane Dolly.
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs: TDHCA staff will be assisting with preliminary damage assessments. TDHCA has advised community action agencies in the lower Rio Grande Valley that they may be called upon to serve additional persons and offered additional resources if needed at this time. TDHCA is reminding all affordable housing rental owners statewide to keep their apartment vacancy information current so that the agency has accurate information on available housing for storm victims who may not be able to return to their homes.. TDHCA also will provide any technical assistance necessary to help these communities apply for post-disaster housing funds.
Health and Human Services Commission: The state’s 2-1-1 system activated 24-hour response operations in additional sites to handle more calls from the affected areas. More than 84,000 Texans have used 2-1-1 to register for transportation assistance, including a surge in registrations from the affected areas just before Dolly hit. HHSC is providing ice and water for evacuation shelters. The state's health and human services offices in the affected area will reopen at 8 a.m. Friday. HHSC is making arrangements to have staff available at Assistance Recovery Centers to help victims apply for state and federal benefits.
Department of Aging and Disability Services: DADS is maintaining contact with providers in the four-county affected area. The Twinbrook South Nursing facility in San Benito is in the process of evacuating 46 residents to a sister facility in McAllen due to flooding.
Department of State Health Services: DSHS is assessing the need for mosquito control and protection. Area hospitals and dialysis facilities are being surveyed to assess conditions and operations, and to determine assistance required. Baptist Children & Family Services is establishing a medical special needs shelter with a capacity for 250 people. Two eight-person medical strike teams and three sanitarians have been deployed to the impact area.
Department of Family and Protective Services: DFPS is reminding foster parents and caregivers that had to evacuate to notify the agency as soon as possible of their new location. Once a family reaches its evacuation destination, they may notify their local CPS office or call the DFPS Hotline (1-800-252-5400) to check in.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Texas Parks and Wildlife is opening campsites and screen shelters to those who need a temporary place to stay at state parks not affected by storm. Mustang Island, Resaca de la Palma, Llano Grande and Bentsen state parks are closed due to flooding or other storm-related issues:
Texas Workforce Commission: TWC’s McAllen Unemployment Insurance (UI) Tele-Center remains closed. UI calls that would normally go to the McAllen Tele-Center continue to be forwarded through TWC’s toll-free UI phone network to tele-centers across the state. Preliminary visual reports show no damage to the McAllen Tele-Center. The following workforce centers were open today in the Coastal Bend region: Sunrise, Staples, Sinton, Beeville, as well as the workforce board’s administrative offices. The following workforce centers remain closed: Alice, Kingsville, Falfurrias, Rockport and George West.
The State Operations Center is conducting daily conference calls with local officials, first responders, mass care providers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Weather Service to assess the latest weather projections and to coordinate state and local preparation and response. |
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By
Mary @
Saturday, July 26, 2008 8:51 AM |
SPI could see economic impact from Dolly
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
July 25, 2008 - 9:05PM
Valley Freedom Staff
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - Leaders in this coastal resort town had to make a decision Friday no vacation destination ever wants to make: to turn people away.
Hundreds of curious Rio Grande Valley residents took to the island Friday to survey the damage from Dolly, the Category 2 hurricane that made landfall Wednesday with 95 mph winds and torrential rainfall.
On Friday afternoon, local police started checking identification of cars entering the Island and turning nonresidents away.
"There's no power here and nothing is open," said Dan Quandt, executive of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Center and unofficial spokesman for the town of 2,700. "We never want to tell people this, but we don't need any visitors here right now."
When Hurricane Dolly blew through South Padre Island, the storm interrupted the height of the Island's tourist season, and the economic impact could be far reaching.
By some estimates, the storm caused some $750 million in damage to South Texas. While it's too early for official estimates, Quandt speculated the damage on the Island alone is in the millions of dollars, as every major business has sustained significant damage.
According to most estimates, it will be at least a week before the majority of businesses reopen.
South Padre Island residents fear the storm could shut down tourism - the area's largest industry - for weeks or months during the busiest season of the year.
"If the tourists don't come, the hotels can't pay their part-time employees and will have to let them go," Quandt said. "That will impact the economy as much as the storm."
No one can calculate the economic damage at this point, he said, and the long-term impact is even more difficult to project.
The storm caused at least $1 million in damage to the SPI Convention Center when winds tore the roof off the building's exhibit center and knocked down a wall to a storage room. There is also water damage.
The recovery from Dolly is also complicated by the lack of electricity.
Quandt said power could be out for more than a week.
Power company trucks can be seen all over the Island, working to remove damaged utility poles and prepare for the installation of new poles and wires. A convoy of additional repair trucks was spotted headed toward the Island on Friday afternoon.
A substation in Port Isabel that is critical to getting power to the Island sustained heavy damage, and no estimate of when it will be repaired has been made.
Officials, business owners and residents are frustrated over the lack of power and the inability to begin many repairs. The hum of small electric generators can be heard all through the town.
Without power, banks are closed and ATMs are out of order, meaning many residents could be left without funds for food, water and other supplies.
There is a concern among the business community that some small business owners may not be able to recover at all.
Across the bay, the town of Laguna Vista condemned 12 individual apartments in four different apartment complexes Thursday.
"There's a house on Orange Street the building inspector hasn't got to yet," City Manager Iris Hill said. "It looks like it might also be condemned."
David and Laura Helms live in the Waters Edge on Santa Isabel. Their apartment is among those that were condemned.
"We went to Brownsville last night looking for a hotel," David Helms said Friday. "They were all full, so we came back home and slept in ours. But we have to move right away."
Laguna Vista police Chief Robert McGinnis said Friday he had already personally pulled one 36-hour shift.
PsychaDeli, a sandwich shop on Padre Boulevard, sustained major damage. Owners Amy Alvis and Josh Kay said they were dealing with the devastation as best they could but were unsure of their future.
At the Cameron County Parks and Recreation Department's office at Isla Blanca Park, on the southern tip of the Island, Parks Director Joe Mendez showed photos of some of the damage at the parks in his care.
No one will be allowed to return until cleanup is complete and all utilities are back in service, he said.
Before the storm, Mendez said, officials predicted any outages would be restored within five to seven days.
"I don't know when we'll be back up and running, or when people we ordered out before the storm can return," he said. "I'll know more about that Monday or Tuesday." |
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By
Mike Stuart @
Saturday, July 26, 2008 10:38 AM |
South Padre Island closed for business after hurricame Amid Dolly cleanup, police turn tourists away
By LYNN BREZOSKY San Antonio Express-news
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — With this normally busy beach destination virtually uninhabitable and not expecting power restored until next week at the earliest, officials Friday made a very rare decision to turn away tourists.
As residents, public employees and aid workers across the Rio Grande Valley pitched in to help clean up after Hurricane Dolly, a prostrated South Padre Island declared itself not open for business.
Dan Quandt, executive director of the island's Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it was the first time he had ever urged people not to visit.
"So many people are calling saying they want to come to the beach, and we're saying, 'No,' " he said. "This is not a time to sightsee down here. We are actually going to have law enforcement at the causeway saying if you don't have business being here, you're going to have to turn around."
South Padre took the full force of Hurricane Dolly's 100 mph winds, but the storm's punch was also proving hard to shrug off inland. Two days after it hit, floodwaters were receding but crews were still rescuing stranded people in rural areas.
Many roads remained impassable, many businesses remained closed and large areas remained without power — and some without gasoline.
Workers were trying to get large generators to South Padre and the Port Isabel area to get fuel pumps operating, Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said.
Officials in Texas and Mexico worried about standing water creating health hazards.
"A lot of streets are completely under water," Cascos said. "Our challenge now is going to be how to address all those septic systems that are going to be backing up. You've got kids in the water that are out there playing when they shouldn't be. That water is contaminated."
In Hidalgo County, where flooding and damage to homes was widespread, officials set up a hot line to call for help: 956-318-2426.
The Red Cross worked with nonprofit groups and the National Guard to distribute food and water. Red Cross spokesman Bob Howard said 27 mobile units were on the road, and the organization expected to manage seven shelters by the end of the day.
Jennifer Ryan, a Red Cross spokeswoman in the field in Harlingen, said the units were unable to reach some affected neighborhoods "until government officials tell us it's safe to come in."
"There's frustration," she said. "One of the drivers was telling me he got out and waded through hip-deep water bringing water and snacks to a family who had called for help. When people saw the truck they all came out and kind of waded out to get some food. I think people are happy with what we're doing now."
Ryan said shelter populations were dropping as residents returned home to assess the damage.
Poorer neighborhoods in Matamoros, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, remained badly flooded, although businesses seemed quicker to reopen there and in Reynosa, Mexico, compared to the hardest-hit Texas cities.
The city of Edinburg and other communities urged residents to conserve water because of the strain on treatment systems from power outages.
About 121,000 residences and businesses served by American Electric Power in the Valley remained without power Friday evening, down from a peak of more than 200,000 on Thursday.
An AEP spokesman predicted power would be restored to at least 95 percent of customers in Edinburg, McAllen, Mission and Rio Grande City by Sunday night. The company was still assessing damage elsewhere.
Magic Valley Electric Cooperative said about 2,700 of its 94,000 customers had no power. At one point, 41,000 had been without. Most outages were in the Rio Hondo area, where winds blew down 85 poles.
The Brownsville Public Utilities Board still had 1,300 customers without power, down from a peak of 5,500.
Attorney General Greg Abbott warned of fraudulent home-repair services wanting payment up front, and said his office would go after businesses that tried to squeeze people as they did after Hurricane Rita in 2005.
"What we've seen all too often is that these supposed repair companies will never come back or will do the job inadequately," he said.
He advised people to call 800-252-8011 to report problems or price gouging.
The slow-moving storm replenished area reservoirs but devastated Valley agriculture.
Texas Farm Bureau field representative Cynthia Wolfe called the cotton crop "a dead loss" and said at least half the citrus crop would be lost.
"In areas, the wind got above 100 miles per hour and easily picked the fruit from the trees," she said. "The trees are sitting in water right now, so that crop probably won't be harvested."
She said agricultural losses would be in the millions of dollars. Overall losses to homeowners and businesses from the storm could approach $1 billion, an insurance group spokesman has estimated.
Brenda Cichon, 57, of Arlington, said little things would have helped a lot once Dolly started pounding South Padre for seemingly endless hours. Like batteries for flashlights and radios, because no one knew what was going on.
"I called everyone" before deciding to stay on the island with her son and daughter-in-law and two small grandchildren, she said. "We called the Fire Department, the police, the South Padre tourist bureau, the homeowners association at the condominium. We even called the Sheraton to ask what they were telling people."
Over and over, Cichon was told Dolly would just be a very bad storm.
"I think the worst thing is that probably up to the last minute they really didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was," she said. |
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By
Bill B. @
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 12:39 PM |
Island recovering from Dolly
July 29, 2008 - 8:57PM
By Kyle Arnold, The Monitor
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - There are only two items on the menu at Palm Street Pier Bar & Grill on Tuesday - burgers and fried shrimp.
But that was enough for weary South Padre Island residents still struggling to move on after Hurricane Dolly ravaged their resort hometown last week.
Still without power over the weekend, employees at the restaurant, next to the Laguna Madre, hooked up generators and propane grills to keep the eatery going.
On Tuesday - the first day authorities allowed non-residents back on the Island - a slow flow of customers, mostly construction workers, wandered in to order beers and grub.
"We bought generators and freezers and fired up the grill," manager Cathy Laferty said. "We just put it back together and kept going."
Dolly slammed the Island as a category-2 storm lobbing 100-mph winds and torrential rainfall.
Most small businesses weathered Dolly fairly well, suffering some damage but not enough to shut them down for good - unlike some of the major hotels.
Electric company AEP Texas has told residents full power to the Island would likely be restored by Thursday night. On Tuesday, power was restored to about a third of the Island.
The dock at Palm Street - one of the establishment's most remarkable features - was destroyed. Laferty doesn't know if the state will allow it to go back up.
Palm Street, however, was more fortunate than neighboring Señor Frog's. That restaurant's aluminum roof was mangled and much of the rest of the structure damaged. Laferty said the building would be demolished.
Down the street at Louie's Backyard, windows and some dock rails were knocked out. Heavy surf also soaked nearly all the restaurant's carpets with hard-to-clean saltwater.
Owner Dan Stanton said Dolly hit businesses at the worst time of year.
With Texas schools starting in less than a month, many businesses will not have recovered in time to capture remaining tourists, Stanton said. So, the 2008 tourist season is over for them.
Wind sheared away walls at the Bahia Mar hotel, where crews were on site Tuesday making repairs and cleaning out debris. The Radisson and Holiday Inn SunSpree hotels also suffered major damage.
Stanton hopes to reopen the restaurant by this weekend, but not before electricity is restored to the entire Island.
"Why should we open if there is no one here to serve?" Stanton said. "We need people in hotels to even make business worth it."
South Padre Island merchants weren't ready to put dollar amounts on their structures yet. Insurance claims adjusters began arriving on the scene Tuesday and contractors are cleaning up debris before they can see if there is any structural damage.
South Padre Island residents Charlie and Julie Curtis and Jerry and Jackie Rippetoe stopped by Palm Street for some cool drinks and lunch.
"We just got our power back this morning," Julie Curtis said. "We've had to sleep on our deck, it was so hot."
The South Padre Island Convention Center, which lost a roof and wall, sustained more than $1 million in damage, said Dan Quandt, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Captain Murphy's charter owner Patrick Murphy simply looked forward to returning to normal as he led his first fishing tour since the hurricane.
"The fishing is great, but there's no one out here," Murphy said. "We are definitely open for business."
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By
Maria @
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 3:00 PM | |
Has Alice's office moved somewhere else temporarily? I heard the west side of the Radisson got wiped out by Dolly, and that it was going to take 4 to 6 months to fix it. (Don't know if it's true or not, but the person who told me had no reason to lie.) Regardless, I bet there are some pretty good post-hurricane real estate deals out there, or ready to enter the market, and I am looking forward to picking up something. Perhaps the hurricane will actually help generate some additional cash flow for all of the island's real estate agents, as frustrated owners seek to sell their properties, and bargain hunters move in. I hate to say it, but if these agents play their cards right, they might actually earn more money this year than they have in recent years. Good luck to all you agents, and I look forward to working with you soon! |
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By
Jose Tello @
Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:03 AM |
I'm not sure, but I think Alice and her husband OWN the Radisson, thus explaining why Alice's real estate office is located there. Damage from Dolly was very severe to that building, including some significant roof damage. Given that situation, I suppose getting the real estate business back up and running isn't at the top of their priority list. Getting that resort back up and running has to be their priority now. Real estate commissions are just "chump change" compared to the resort revenue. (This web site is probably fully automated, hosted somewhere far away.)
At this point the Donahue's are probably taking a hard look at the whole building repair project, and having to make some hard decisions regarding how much they're going to invest to make the whole place more hurricane resistant. It's kind of embarrassing to see how much damage the place sustained with just a relatively weak category 2 hurricane. On the other hand they may chose to just repair the place as it was, to reopen it ASAP. I don't pretend to know what is going on in their heads right now.
Don't underestimate the significance of this repair job. Everybody on the island is going to be standing in line for access to qualified contractors -and that's AFTER they figure out how strong they're going to make the place for the next hurricane. It's easy to brush this off as a simple "insurance job", but it's really not that easy. The saddest part is the employees who have lost their jobs during the peak tourist season.
A lot of folks will brush off the Donahue's problems given their wealth, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a real disaster for them, and our hearts go out to them and all the other business owners that have been so badly hurt by Dolly.
Here is a current picture of the beach, if you're interested. The whole thing looks very small in comparison to the dune area, and this is the south end of the island, where the beach is widest. If the erosion continues police/maintenance vehicle traffic is going to become more impractical, as it already is on northern parts of the island. The Radisson has the best beach on the island, but if you're making long term investment decisions, you can't ignore the continuous beach erosion problem.
http://www.spadre.com/southpadrebeachcam.jpg
- Jose
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By
alice Donahue @
Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:28 AM | |
To all of our customers and devoted web site fans - First of all thank you for your calls and concern over the Hurrricane that hit our beloved island. Michael and I appreciate it very much. Secondly as those of you who know us are aware, we do not own the Radisson Hotel and have nothing to do with the operation of it. We have had our office there since 1995 and will continue to do so. My husband Michael Stuart is the CEO of TexasGulfCoastOnline.com which is our regional online brokerage and he does all of our websites and internet marketing through our company. We also work with many developers and real estate companies on the Texas Gulf Coast with their internet marketing. Real Estate and taking care of our clients is our #1 priority and our office will continue to be in the Radisson and fully operational very soon. |
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By
Mike Stuart @
Thursday, July 31, 2008 1:49 PM |
Texas Department of Insurance (TDI):
The TDI has six insurance specialists in South Texas available to provide in-person assistance from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations.
Brownsville Home Depot 4551 Padre Island Hwy (intersection with Boca Chica Blvd)
Harlingen Home Depot 4710 S. Expressway 83
Weslaco 1500 W. Expressway 83
Please see the Hurricane Dolly Resource
Page for additional information:
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/storms/dollypage.html.
TDI is conducting daily conference calls with the insurance industry to exchange information about our disaster response efforts.
Consumer Help Line hours are: weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays noon to 6 p.m.
Consumers may contact 800-252-3439. |
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By
Jose Tello @
Thursday, July 31, 2008 7:44 PM |
Alice, I apologize for the big mistake! The news article below from the Rio Grande Guardian stated that somebody named Phil Donahue owned the Radisson. I wrongly assumed it was your husband. Again I apologize, and I wish you the best of luck in quickly restoring your business. It's a beautiful island, and helping people fulfill their dreams must be a wonderful job.
- Jose
Whitlock: Preparing for Hurricane Dolly on South Padre Island
By Ron Whitlock
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, July 22 - As Hurricane Dolly continued to ponder exactly where she would make landfall along the U.S. and Mexican coast, it was obvious by looking at the giant waves crashing onto the world famous beach of South Padre Island, Texas, that her winds, tidal surge and rain would soon arrive.
While some parents watched their children play in the rough surf of the Gulf of Mexico, dozens of surf boarders relished the high waves of the approaching storm, claiming that they were similar to those normally only seen in the Hawaiian Islands. It seemed like no one was worried or paying attention to the beach warning flags that had been posted, s beaches was a memorable site to behold.
My concerns for my safety and the others who have chosen to ride out this hurricane on a barrier island, South Padre, primarily deal with the storm surge, which is the most dangerous life threatening thing about hurricanes and claim the most lives historically. With Dolly, it is forecast to be only 4 to 6 feet. Winds are expected and forecast to be 50 to 70 miles per hour, unless Dolly moves her tract more northward from the mouth of the Rio Grande River, or the coast of Mexico, where the eye is expected to make landfall tomorrow morning. Either way, it looks like we will be in the most powerful northwest quadrant of Hurricane Dolly, where winds and rain are the most significant.
Our prayers go out to the impoverished, in many cases, practically homeless poor people that I have seen living a day to day existence near the Matamoros, Mexico garbage dump, and to others’ who will be trying to sleep fitfully, snuggled up with their family, as Hurricane Dolly’s initial rain bands begin to come ashore.
The national media have also descended on the island. ABC and the Weather Channel both made live satellite reports today, and here at the Bahia Mar Resort and Conference Center, facilities general manager Everett Shands Caskey, will be interviewed live tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. on the CBS ‘The Morning Show.’”
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By
Jose F. T. @
Thursday, July 31, 2008 7:55 PM |
Again I apologize. I give up trying to post the whole article, for some reason this thing keeps getting truncated. In order to prevent me from messing up this web site any more, here is the link for anybody who wants to read the article, and the mention of Bill Donahue, who it says is owner of the Radisson:
"Bill Donahue, owner of the Radisson Resort South Padre Island, told me that his hotel is full of guests, primarily with a healthcare conference which chose to continue, and his employees, who will be lodged at the Resort because once winds are clocked at 45 miles per hour by the Texas Department of Transportation, the Queen Isabella Causeway bridge will be closed to traffic until winds recede."
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:vkSD009MDDoJ:www.riograndeguardian.com/rggnews_story.asp%3Fstory_no%3D2+Donahue+Radisson+Dolly+South+Padre+Island&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us |
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By
Scuba Man @
Friday, August 01, 2008 9:11 AM |
Schlitterbahn reopens tomorrow, the high rises are still standing, and the beach looks wonderful! Dolly is long gone and this is the best time of the year for SPI!
www.spadre.com/southpadrebeachcam.jpg |
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