Hurricane Dolly Churns Toward Texas

Officials Fear Storm Could Break Rio Grande Levees; National Guard Troops Mobilized

(CBS/AP)  The center of Hurricane Dolly was about 85 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas early Wednesday morning, moving northwest at about 9 miles per hour.

The Category 1 hurricane was expected to strengthen slightly before making landfall later in the day, bringing with it up to 15 inches of rain.

The storm was packing sustained winds near 80 miles per hour as it headed toward the U.S.-Mexico border and the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley.

A hurricane warning was in effect for the coast of Texas from Brownsville to Corpus Christi and in Mexico from Rio San Fernando northward.

The National Weather Service in Brownsville said conditions were favorable for tornadoes in deep South Texas and the adjacent coastal waters. Forecasters predicted Dolly could dump up to 20 inches of rain and bring coastal storm surge flooding up to 6 feet above normal high tide levels.

In Mexico, officials planned to evacuate 23,000 people to government shelters. Texas officials were urging residents to move away from the Rio Grande levees.

At local stores there was a run on plywood to protect windows, but as CBS Early Show weather anchor Dave Price reported, Dolly's most serious threat is water, not wind.

Texas 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 and Reynosa, Mexico Tuesday afternoon and the surf continued to get rougher.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for areas adjacent to the hurricane zone, and Gov. Rick Perry declared 14 South Texas counties disasters, allowing state resources to be used to send equipment and emergency workers to areas in the storm's path.

CBS affiliate KGBT reported that Perry had also put the state's military force on alert - making 1,200 men and women with the Army National Guard and Air and Texas National Guards ready for deployment orders in response to Dolly.

"Currently we have soldiers based in Austin, San Antonio, Houston," Col. Bill Meehan of the Texas Army National Guard Center in Austin told KBGT. "And we have two air units that are prepared to launch; one out of Austin, one out of San Antonio."

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."

Around Brownsville, levees protect the historical downtown as well as preserved buildings that were formerly part of Fort Brown on the University of Texas at Brownsville campus. Outside the city, agricultural land dominates the banks of the Rio Grande, but thousands of people live in low-lying colonias, often poor subdivisions built without water and sewer utilities.

The International Boundary and Water Commission, which operates a series of levees, dams and floodways in the lower Rio Grande Valley, put its personnel on standby alert.

[blessed1959]

so, Bush is still in the storm creating business! HA

[xmanborg]

Well Hello Dolly.

Thanks for only being a Cat 1 storm. FEMA is not ready for you to make land fall so please be good to Texas and not so destructive.

[babooph]

No God blessed the US giving us Bush,but could one be cursing Texas for the dirty deed?

[jijalagi]

My predictions: 1- Those shelters Gov. Hernandez spoke of aren%u2019t in Matamoros, they%u2019re in San Antonio and Dallas. 2- About 15% of the evacuations from the Texas side will actually be from Mexico. 3- US taxpayers will spend billions to rebuild northern Mexico better than it was before the storm. Never mind that Mexico is one of the richest nations on Earth. 4- Unlike some place further east, there won%u2019t be a lot of looting, murder, rape, and robbery. 5- Few Texans will wait for their governor and mayors to tell them to leave and won%u2019t wait for government transportation. Texans are more independent than that. 6- If rescue is necessary, no one will be shooting at rescue helicopters. 7- Three years from now Texans will be recovered from this storm and ready to face the next one with grit teeth and determination. New Orleans will still be living in FEMA trailers and complaining that they need more help

[newsjunky5]

"Quick, fill your gas tanks before the oil companies raise the price of fuel."

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That''s funny, as that was my strategy after the ''04 "election" results. Unfortunately, the tank didn''t last through this second term.

[chenz66]

Quick, fill your gas tanks before the oil companies raise the price of fuel.

[obama441]

"hurricane" for the spelling police

[obama441]

run fat b.astards,too bad its not a category 5 huricane

[oneworldusa]

To expand on an earlier post, yes, this would be a good idea to put all illegals in the area on boats, fully equipped with GPS traking and auto-pilot to their countries of origin.

[shanev137]

When is gas going to hit $5 a gallon....before or after it makes landfall?

[stn_sage]

Good luck, Texans! ''Batten down the hatches'', the big one''s on it''s way!

Prepare well because you can''t count on FEMA or any one of these U.S. government organizations to help, they''re all so incompetent! Maybe some day---

[lovesamerica]

Good luck Texas! I vol. with the redcross during Wilma,get your supplies ready and if you can''t get out,be safe and don''t forget your elderly neighbors,shut ins and pets. Take care of each other....

[cmp271]

I like that District of Crooks-thank you for a good laugh!!

Why not have dump trucks ready to catch the rain in and truck it to the parched areas? Better yet, a large bowl with hoses running there to use the extra water...let''s think this one through people!! Do something Texas style!!!

The bottom line is people have encrouched on Nature, and Nature wants her area back!! Simple enough for you?

It is a shame all these hurricaines and we can''t devise something to take advantage of all that power from the wind and rain.

Let''s see how long before everyone wants a hand out and we hear about it for years. KUDOS TO THE MIDWEST FOR DOING IT WITHOUT A HANDOUT!!!

[aggiekat2004]

DaShortRound...

I hope you''re joking with that one, too. That''s idiotic!

And here we go again...another storm targeting minorities. This time when FEMA doesn''t jump in and help the illegals, I''m sure the rest of us will get slammed for being racist...

[aggiekat2004]

I''m sure that FEMA and Immigration will get together and put all of the illegals in FEMA trailers...

[keithle1]

Here we go again. Let the Coast Guard handle it. Keep FEMA far away.

[bozworth4]

Thnak all powers in government for making sure our infrastructure is as good as Iraqs''. Nothing to worry about, help is waiting. Might have to wait until NATIONAL GUARD gets home, but help is waiting------ In Iraq. New bridges in Bagdag are safe, ans the levees along the rivers have been shorn up In Iraq. To bad this hurricane lost its'' direction. I''m sure it meant to do like everything else this nation has, and go to Iraq. LOL. On a serious note sorry for all those people that will probably loose everything. But, fear not King George II and his cronies will be at hand to support you.

[timdgrim]

It''''s obviously retribution from God Himself on Texas for all the evil that Texas has spawned.

Repent the error of your ways, Texas!


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Posted by DaShortRound
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Good joke! At least I hope it was a joke..otherwise..you''re scary!

[timdgrim]

good.. I hope it floods and washes the illegals out to sea..


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Posted by MeanBiker
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That would have to be one H*ll of a hurricane..since the illegals are in all 50 states and the District of Crooks.

[dashortround]

It''s obviously retribution from God Himself on Texas for all the evil that Texas has spawned.

Repent the error of your ways, Texas!