Storm-Struck Texas Copes With Dolly's Destruction

On the U.S. side of the border, one person was injured in the storm, but there are no reported fatalities. One person in Matamoros, Mexico, was electrocuted while walking past a downed power line.

Heavy rains following the 100 mile an hour windstorm have flooded wide areas of the Rio Grande Valley, destroying much of the cotton crop that was nearly ready for harvest.

By Thursday afternoon, Dolly was blowing just 35 miles an hour, and forecasters downgraded to a tropical depression the storm that just 24 hours before had been a borderline category 1 - category 2 hurricane.

Dolly pours rain on San Benito, Texas in the southernmost tip of the state. (Photo by Agapito Serrato III)

Still, the Texas State Emeregency Operations Center is fully staffed at the highest level of activation. Thirty shelters are operating tonight, with 3,396 occupants.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, who flew over the area Thursday with Senator John Cornyn, said further flooding is likely over the next five days as Dolly moves north.

"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 the governor. "As damage assessments begin, the state stands ready to help south Texas residents rebuild and restore their homes, businesses and communities.”

While the Rio Grande Valley levees held back the water this time, Cornyn said Hurricane Dolly throws a spotlight on legislation he introduced earlier this year that would allow county governments in the valley to make immediate repairs to their outdated levees and be reimbursed by the federal government later.

“The levee system of the Rio Grande Valley - intended to protect homes and businesses from flooding - is outdated and repairs are long overdue," said Cornyn.

"Yet, with Hurricane Dolly’s arrival and hurricane season upon us, this important bill remains stalled in the Senate," he said.

Cornyn says he wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week requesting that his bill quickly be called to the Senate floor for a vote.

Meanwile, all of the state’s search and rescue crews are at work, coordinated by the Texas Engineering Extension Service, called TEEX, along with 700 of the 1,200 national guardsmen who have been called up.

Ten water rescue boat squads have been operating out of College Station with 70 personnel trained in specialized search and rescue techniques.

Damage and needs assessments are being performed throughout the highest-impacted Rio Grande Valley communities, including the colonias.

Aiding these assessments is the U.S. Coast Guard, which is providing data via flyover imagery to local officials and search and rescue teams on the ground.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has responded to requests for food in Laredo and Hidalgo County, including a request from Congressman Ruben Hinojosa by sending truckloads of USDA-donated commodities to shelters in both counties.

The state agriculture agency says it also has food available for the growing number of evacuees sheltering 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 Animal Health Commission livestock health inspectors and animal care personnel from the Houston SPCA began damage assessments for livestock and smaller animals Friday, with the three incident management teams in the flood-affected area.

The 16 member Emergency Response Strike Team from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, with a mobile command post, a Lab/GIS trailer, and a communications trailer, has deployed to the Rio Grande Valley to assist with damage assessment.

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 damage.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.