TX Officials Taking No Chances, Bracing For Flooding From Dean

AUSTIN, TX.(AP) – While forecasts say Hurricane Dean will hit northern Mexico, state officials Monday prepared for the possibility that heavy rain from the storm’s outer bands could flood parts of the Rio Grande Valley.

The National Guard and search and rescue teams have been mobilized. Medical helicopters were ready, and shelters were set up in 28 communities out of Dean’s reach. As many as 80,000 barrels of gasoline have been shipped to Rio Grande Valley gas stations. The state sent six C-130 aircraft to Cameron County in the state’s southern corner in case any critically ill patients needed evacuation from local hospitals.

About 3,000 buses, including some contributed by dozens of school districts, were on standby for possible evacuations. Jack Colley, chief of the state’s Division of Emergency Management, said emergency officials were prepared for the possibility that the Category 4 storm may change course and veer toward Texas. The worst case scenario? A direct hit on the Rio Grande Valley. Such a hit “reduces the time line we have to act,” Colley said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Dean was centered 230 miles east-southeast of Mexico’s seaside ruins of Tulum and moving west at near 20 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Its sustained winds were near 150 mph, and experts said it could intensify to a Category 5 storm, with sustained winds over 155 mph, before slamming into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula early Tuesday. Hurricane warnings were in effect for Belize, the Cayman Islands and the Yucatan Peninsula.

The storm has already killed 10 people on its destructive march across the Caribbean. Jamaica was spared a direct hit Sunday night, but the storm still uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes as it skirted the island’s southern coast. Unlike the devastating hurricanes of 2005, Katrina and Rita, Dean wasn’t expected to swing far enough north to endanger the Gulf of Mexico’s key oil and gas drilling regions, and a drop in oil prices Monday reflected that.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Chevron said they would evacuate nonessential personnel from deep water facilities but production would continue at normal levels. The threat of torrential rainfall from Dean came as parts of Texas were still cleaning up from the flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin. “If you live near the Texas coast, get your house and your belongings in order, gather the important documentation that you need in the event of an evacuation,” Gov. Rick Perry said.

Meanwhile, with Texas landfall by Dean becoming less likely, the American Red Cross called off 100 teams from 26 states that had planned to meet in Little Rock, Ark., to respond to the storm. Some leaders in Cameron County however were cautiously watching the storm. Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said he was not ready to lift evacuation orders issued over the weekend. Cascos had issued a countywide voluntary evacuation and a mandatory evacuation of trailers and recreational vehicles on South Padre Island. “I’m not going to lift our evacuations ’til we know the storm is continuing out of reach,” he said. “We’ve seen what hurricanes are capable of. We’ve had other storms that, right before they make landfall, they decide to deviate.”

Mayor Bob Pinkerton of the resort town of South Padre Island said there were no plans to evacuate as forecasts showed the storm heading far south of the Texas border and there were no tropical storm, coastal flood, or other warnings or watches in effect for the island. But he said a state of emergency he declared Saturday would remain in effect and town emergency management officials remained on the ready. Surfers eagerly anticipated the best waves of the season.

Waves of 15 feet are expected in South Texas later this week. “Right now it’s flat,” said Alex Mathers of On The Beach surf shop on South Padre Island. “Later in the week they’re predicting more of a swell.” Authorities warned would-be illegal immigrants to watch for strong currents in the Rio Grande. “Fast rising water levels will make the Rio Grande a virtual death trap to any person attempting to cross it,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday.

By APRIL CASTRO Associated Press Writer

— Associated Press Writer Lynn Brezosky in Harlingen contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)