HOUSTON (WBAP/KLIF)- The Texas Coast is preparing for tropical storm Laura which is expected to turn into a hurricane and make landfall early Thursday morning somewhere between Freeport Texas, south of Houston and Lake Charles Louisiana.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is urging everyone to prepare for the worst and make plans immediately.
“Anyone along the coast should prepare as if you are going to be asked to evacuate, you should be ready to go at a moments notice and take all evacuation orders very seriously,” said Hidalgo.
She said Laura has a higher potential for surge impact, not as much flooding but more wind. “If that happens, we hide from the wind and we run form storm surge, from sea water,” she said.
Hildalgo said The Red Cross is prepared to open emergency shelters and is working with FEMA and the CDC to take all precautions related to COVID-19.
“Over the past few weeks we have been in close touch with local, state and federal partners, fire, police, flood control..I’ve have been in touch with other governments in the region,” she said. “We are leaving no stone unturned with our preparation.”
Governor Greg Abbott announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and President Trump have granted a Federal Emergency Declaration request for Emergency Protective Measures. Specifically, FEMA is authorized to provide emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support at 75% federal funding.
“Texas is grateful to President Trump and our partners at FEMA for quickly granting this Federal Emergency Declaration,” said Governor Abbott. “As Tropical Storms Marco and Laura head towards the coast, the State of Texas is working with local and federal partners to ensure our communities have the resources they need to respond to these storms.”
Governor Abbott has also deployed more than 70 members with the Texas Army, Air National Guards, and Texas State Guard with the Texas Military Department (TMD) and are pre-positioning throughout the state of Texas ahead of the storms.
Also, Dallas Fire-Rescue deployed personnel to assist in search and rescue operations in the areas expected to be mostly impacted by the storms. Additionally, the department was also contacted by the North Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council, to request resources as part of Emergency Medical Task Force-2.
Forecasters expect minimal impacts from tropical storm Marco but they are anticipating heavy rainfall.