Tropical Storm Hanna wallops COVID-hit TX coast
- by Carmen Reese
- in Science
- — Jul 28, 2020
Mercedes, about 20 miles east of McAllen, saw extensive water damage while Corpus Christi saw far less.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a press conference Saturday afternoon that he signed a disaster declaration for 32 Texas counties and has requested a federal emergency declaration as well.
The city of 325 0 Residents, which is one of the main sources of infection in the coronavirus outbreak in Texas, had closed libraries and museums as residents prepared for the storm, local media reported.
He said at that time he had not heard of any fatalities caused by Hanna, and did not want it to stoke any potentially deadly transmission of the virus either.
"We remain uncomfortably close to a unsafe hurricane here in the state of Hawaii", Robert Ballard, the science and operations officer at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, said during a teleconference.
Some areas in South Texas had already reported receiving up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain, including Cameron County, which borders Mexico and where Brownsville is located. But the storm could dump upward of 18 inches of rain in the area through Monday.
Mexico's northeasternmost states, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, also took precautions ahead of the storm.
As Texas contends with the ongoing aftermath of one hurricane on Sunday, Hawaii is bracing for the impact of another.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville has issued a tornado watch for the entire Rio Grande Valley.
"It's nearly like a double whammy to us", Boehme said by phone.
The hurricane center warned those in the islands to keep a close eye on this system for the next dew days.
"The combination of a unsafe storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline, " the Miami-based Hurricane Center said. A direct hit on Oahu still remains a possibility, he said.
Maui county lifted its hurricane warning after skies began clearing over the island by mid-afternoon, and the island's mayor Mike Victorino said there were no reports of serious damage.
"Electricity crews must shelter in place due to wind speeds & the rain", the City of Mission said on Twitter. "Crews will continue to respond to outages when it's safe to do so". "We urge mariners to monitor future storm warnings and heed all advisories".
