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Tropical Storm Francine may convey life-threatening storm surge, harmful winds and excessive water on Texas roadways alongside the Gulf Coast, Gov. Greg Abbott mentioned Tuesday morning, urging Texans to heed recommendation from their native officers and stay vigilant as a result of the storm may nonetheless change course.
Galveston County Decide Mark Henry issued a voluntary evacuation order for the Bolivar Peninsula by way of Wednesday night as a result of flooding and excessive tides may hamper journey to and from the peninsula, leaving susceptible individuals at-risk.
The storm is at present transferring northeastward throughout the Gulf of Mexico and is anticipated to develop into a hurricane earlier than making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday. A storm surge warning is in impact for Excessive Island, Texas to the Mississippi-Alabama border, in keeping with the Nationwide Hurricane Middle.
The storm comes about two months after Hurricane Beryl ripped by way of the Texas coast, knocking out energy for thousands and thousands of Texans and toppling bushes and houses. Houston-area utility CenterPoint Power got here beneath fireplace after that storm for failing to speak clearly with clients and for not restoring energy rapidly sufficient. Some clients had been with out energy for greater than 10 days.
Whereas minor energy outages may happen with Francine, Abbott mentioned energy firms — together with CenterPoint — could be anticipated to revive electrical energy inside hours.
“CenterPoint knows they are under a microscope,” Abbott mentioned throughout a Tuesday press convention in Austin. “This is their time to perform, their time to show they are living up to the promises they have made.”
After Beryl, CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells apologized to clients and vowed to make the corporate’s infrastructure extra resilient to future climate occasions. Since Beryl, the corporate elevated their vegetation removing and put up extra weather-resistant poles, Abbott mentioned.
Abbott mentioned Texans must be ready for troublesome driving situations in coastal areas beginning Tuesday night. And he mentioned the storm may spawn tornadoes throughout East Texas.
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“Some Texans will drive through a roadway unaware of the depth of water in that region,” Abbott mentioned. “You don’t need to get through that particular roadway if there’s high water.”
The Nationwide Guard is on standby to help with Francine response efforts, Abbott mentioned, as is a water rescue group.
Texas Division of Emergency Administration Chief Nim Kidd mentioned two native officers had issued voluntary evacuation orders as of Tuesday morning, although he didn’t specify who they had been.
Henry, the Galveston County Decide, mentioned he determined to difficulty the order for a part of his county as a result of the excessive tide would probably trigger the native ferry to droop service and make State Freeway 87 impassable. Individuals could not be capable to depart the Bolivar Peninsula for greater than 28 hours, Henry mentioned.
“If they need to leave for a medical issue or for life-sustaining power, they might need to relocate,” Henry mentioned.
Disclosure: CenterPoint Power has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full checklist of them right here.
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