Beachgoers continue to have fun in the sun and surf as Tropical Storm Erika makes her way to the South Texas coast Aug. 15, 2003. The race westward by Erika, which reached tropical storm strength only the day before, caught Gulf Coast residents by surprise, sending farmers, fishermen and some residents scrambling.
Jorge Garcia, bottom, holds a piece of plywood up to help Cecilio Del Rio, top left, as they position the plywood over a second-story window in the Art Buidling at the University of Texas at Brownsville in preparation of Tropical Storm Erika Aug. 15, 2003.
Ashley Lane, 15, runs out of the waters stirred up by Tropical Storm Erika in South Padre Island, Texas, Aug. 16, 2003. Mid-morning, the center of the storm was about 55 miles southwest Matamoros, Mexico, which is just across the border from Brownsville and the storm was expected to weaken as it moved farther inland.
Blake Thurman, 8, left, and his mother Tracie Thurman, of Columbia, Mo., play in waves stirred up by Tropical Storm Erika in South Padre Island, Texas, Aug. 16, 2003.
Hector Garza, top, sleeps with his sons Michael Anthony, 3, center, and Hector Jr., 6, at a shelter set up at Homer Hana High School in Brownsville, Texas, Aug. 16, 2003. Tropical Storm Erika came ashore, hitting Brownville's sister city of Matamoros, Mexico, with high winds and heavy rains.
Joana Velasquez, 2, top, and her brother Jonathan, 1, sleep with relatives at a shelter from Tropical Storm Erika set up at Homer Hana High School in Brownsville, Texas, Aug. 16, 2003.