HURRICANE SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS
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Tropical Storm Hanna Unleashes Flooding, Power Outages Across South Texas, Northeastern Mexico
By Jan Wesner Childs and Ron Brackett
less than an hour ago
weather.com
00:51
Tropical Storm Hanna Drenches South Texas, Knocks Out Power
As Tropical Storm Hanna continues to push inland, it is causing flooding and blackouts.
At a Glance
- More than 250,000 customers were without power in South Texas Sunday morning.
- Hanna smashed boats in a Corpus Christi marina, and three people were trapped on a sinking sailboat.
- More than five feet of storm surge washed over beaches as the hurricane made landfall.
Tropical Storm Hanna continued to lash South Texas and northeastern Mexico on Sunday with high winds and torrential downpours.
Flash flood warnings were issued across the Rio Grande Valley as the storm continued to push inland. A flash flood emergency was declared in Mission, Texas, where as much as 10 inches of rain had fallen. Officials with the city of Mission asked people to stay away because motorists were becoming stranded in the flooding and that was taking time away from first responders.
A flash flood emergency also was declared for frontage roads and city streets around U.S. Highway 83 in Hidalgo County.
Chris Birchfield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Brownsville, Texas, said even though Hanna's winds had weakened, the heavy rainfall was still a real threat.
"We're not even close to over at this point," Birchfield told The Associated Press. "We're still expecting catastrophic flooding."
More than 280,000 homes and businesses had no electricity as of 6 a.m. CDT Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. About 15,000 customers had been restored by 10:30 a.m. Hidalgo County officials had to move an evacuation shelter to a hotel after power went out at Weslaco High School, KRGV.com reported.
Three people had to be rescued from a sailboat sinking in Corpus Christi's Marina del Sol late Saturday, KIII reported. A water rescue team from Texas A&M Task Force 1 used two inflatable Zodiac boats to reach the endangered sailboat as 65-mph winds roiled the waters, smashing boats into kindling. Two people in their 80s and the 40-year-old owner were aboard the sailboat.
"Conditions were pretty rough, not going to lie, it was debatable, but the handicapped people on the boat were sending SOS using a flashlight and boats were literally ripping apart. I asked the rescue squad leader and boat operators if they felt comfortable. I got three thumbs up," TX-TF1 Water Group Supervisor Kevin Deramus said, according to KIII.
Jame Rowles examines the damage after the docks at the marina where his boat was secured were destroyed as Hurricane Hanna made landfall, Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Parts of North Beach in Corpus Christi remained underwater on Sunday, according to KRIS. North Beach remained closed to cars and pedestrians.
Water rescues also were needed in Hidalgo County, Valley Central reported, and major flooding was reported in Edinburg, McAllen, Mission, San Juan, and Weslaco. The roof of a funeral home in Edinburg collapsed overnight.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said the county received 8 to 12 inches of rain and it could take 24 to 48 hours for all the water to drain downstream. He said many vehicles were stranded and power lines were down. He also said residents were being evacuated.
Roofs were ripped off buildings in Willacy County, according to Valley Central.
A beach and roadway in Matagorda County, Texas, were covered with debris from Hurricane Hanna on Saturday, July 25, 2020.
(Matagorda County Precinct 6 Constable's Office via Facebook)
An airport manager said planes were shoved around and windows blown out of buildings at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport on Sunday during a possible tornado, the NWS reported. The airport's perimeter fence was also damaged.
Highways and streets were closed across many parts of South Texas because of flooding and downed trees and power lines.
Storm surge washed over South Texas beaches when Hanna made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 5 p.m. Saturday. about 15 miles north of Port Mansfield, Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for 32 counties, many of them in areas ravaged in recent weeks by the coronavirus pandemic.
Water washed boards, tree limbs, trash and other debris over seawalls, piers and roads all along the coast.
A portion of the Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi washed away, and floodwaters had reached the city's Art Museum of South Texas, KIII-TV reported. Images posted on social media also showed flooding in the downtown area.
A building was damaged hours south in Port Mansfield.
Earlier in the day, officials in Nueces County warned of the dangerous storm surge and flooding.
"We are highly concerned about this surge of water that we are seeing," Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales said in a news briefing earlier in the day.
Residents were told to stay inside their homes as the storm also brought the potential for heavy rainfall and flooding.
"There are life-threatening situations with this storm," Canales warned. "Please take it very seriously."
Corpus Christi, located in Nueces County, saw a storm surge of more than 5 feet before high tide hit.
Portions of another pier along the coast also appeared to be washed away.
Jame Rowles examines the damage after the docks at the marina where his boat was secured were destroyed as Hurricane Hanna made landfall, Saturday, July 25, 2020, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
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