Texas coast braces for imminent impact from Beryl, which is expected to regain hurricane strength

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas authorities are urging coastal residents to prepare for the imminent impact of Beryl, which was a tropical storm on Saturday but is expected to regain hurricane strength as it moves through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

A hurricane watch was in effect for a stretch of the state’s coastline from Baffin Bay south of Corpus Christi to Sargent, south of Houston, and forecasters said the center of the storm was likely to approach the state on Sunday and make landfall the next day. Storm surge warnings were also in effect.

“We expect the storm to make landfall somewhere along the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct,” said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “If that happens, it will most likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”

Beryl, the first storm to become a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, caused at least 11 deaths as it swept through Caribbean islands earlier this week. It then slammed into Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved over the Yucatan Peninsula.

Texas officials warned people along the entire coast to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and winds as the storm approaches.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a precautionary disaster declaration for 121 counties.

“Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans in Beryl’s path as it makes landfall and moves across the state over the next 24 hours,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday.

Some Texas coastal cities have called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying flood-prone areas, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling over the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.

Matagorda County spokesman Mitch Thames said Saturday that officials have issued a voluntary evacuation request for coastal areas of the county about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston to account for the large number of visitors to the area for the holiday weekend.

“I don’t want to ruin the holiday weekend for our visitors, but at the same time, our main goal is the health and safety of all of our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not so worried about our residents. The people who live there are used to this, they understand it,” Thames said.

In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to shorten their trips and return home as soon as possible. Officials asked residents to secure their homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to protect against possible flooding.

“We’re taking the storm very seriously and we’re asking the community to take it very seriously as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said during a news conference Friday night.

Traffic has been nonstop for the past three days at an Ace Hardware store in Corpus Christi as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.

“They are only worried about the wind and the rain,” he said. “They want to prepare just in case.”

Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Padre Island in Corpus Christi, said “there’s definitely a lot of noise about the approaching storm,” and customers are stocking up on food and drink, particularly meat and beer.

“I’ve heard there’s been talk about people having hurricane parties,” he said by phone Saturday.

In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi along the Texas Gulf Coast, authorities on Saturday issued a mandatory evacuation order for its 6,700 residents.

Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter, the county’s top elected official, said that based on growing confidence in Beryl’s path and uncertainty regarding the storm’s intensity and holiday weekend traffic already clogging roads, she made the decision to order a mandatory evacuation.

“I would rather be cautious and let Tropical Storm Beryl slowly come in with some rain and some wind to an empty Refugio County than the alternative of it strengthening more than anticipated, which we know has happened with several storms in the past,” Poynter said in a video posted on Facebook.

As of Saturday night, Beryl was located about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had maximum sustained winds of 59 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 12 mph (20 kph).

Before reaching Mexico and moving toward the Gulf, Beryl had already wreaked havoc in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados this week. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, authorities said.

Mexican authorities had evacuated some tourists and residents from low-lying areas of the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but tens of thousands of people remained to endure the high winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few meters above sea level.

The city was plunged into darkness as the storm knocked out power as it made landfall. High winds set off car alarms across the city. Wind and rain continued to lash the coastal city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army crews scoured the streets of the resort town, clearing downed trees and power lines. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, and Martin Silva in Tulum, Mexico, contributed to this report.