- More than 250,000 customers were without power in South Texas Sunday morning.
- Flood warnings were issued across South Texas.
- More than five feet of storm surge washed over beaches as the hurricane made landfall.
- The Coast Guard rescued a couple on a boat in Corpus Christi.
Tropical Storm Hanna continued to lash South Texas and northeastern Mexico on Sunday morning with high winds and torrential downpours.
Flash flood warnings were issued across the Rio Grande Valley as the storm continued to push inland.
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. Hidalgo County officials had to move an evacuation shelter to a hotel after power went out at Weslaco High School, KRGV.com reported.
Highways and streets were closed across many parts of South Texas because of flooding and downed trees and power lines.
(MORE: What’s Next for Hanna?)
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)
The Coast Guard used a helicopter to rescue a couple who had wanted to ride out the storm aboard a boat in Corpus Christi’s Marina del Sol, KIII reported. A swiftwater rescue team assisted in getting the couple back to land without injuries, Coast Guard spokesperson Paige Hause told AP.
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.
(MORE: In the Era of Coronavirus and Social Distancing, Should You Go to a Shelter?)
Hundreds of medical, emergency and search and rescue personnel were standing by in Texas, with aircraft, boats and vehicles, Abbott said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. He said a shelter would be opened at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio for people with medical needs. The Red Cross had plans to give hotel vouchers to other evacuees if necessary, Abbott said.
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.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
