Disaster Recovery News

South Texas residents are wading through knee-deep muddy waters to assess the extent of the damage done to their property by the winds and rains brought by Hurricane Dolly. Despite the pain of recovering from the disaster, residents are saying they are glad that the storm didn’t take many lives and that levees held their ground. Insurance professionals estimate the loss in the south Texas area at around $750 million.

Some areas saw as much as 12-inches of rain. People in the La Quinta area of San Benito have been wading through waist deep grey water to get to and from their homes. On July 22, federal disaster aid was made available for Texas areas hit by the storm. The funding will be provided on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures and hazard mitigation. FEMA currently has deployed regional response centers in Texas to aid in the recovery. You can read more about what FEMA is doing in the wake of Hurricane Dolly at http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=45225.

AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Home and business owners are beginning to return to assess the damages inflicted by Hurricane Dolly yesterday. Roads are littered with debris and in some cases still flooded in the aftermath of the storm that dropped 6-12 inches of rain all over the state. Though the storm took off roofs, downed powerlines and flooded roadways, the levees around the Rio Grande were not breached. Officials are warning residents to stay at home for now until the powerlines can be fixed to remove any danger of electrocution.

Fourteen Texas counties have been declared disaster areas by the Texas Governor. They are seeking federal help currently.

Some communities have sustained more damage than others. In Laureles, north of Los Fresnos, the community has been flooded with two feet or more of water in places. Mailboxes barely stick out of the black waters.

More updates from the AP

Read more on Flood Damage Recovery

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Hurricane Dolly hit Southern Texas today as a category 2 storm, pushing 100 mph winds and inches of rain into the coastline. Concerns about the potential for broken levees were eased slighty however, when Dolly’s winds eased down to a category 1 after hitting land.

“The levees are holding up just fine,” said Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Johnny Cavazos in an associated press report. “There is no indication right now that they are going to crest.”

The failure of levees and cresting rivers are what contributed to some of the worst flooding damage done in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina as well the recent June flooding in Iowa and Nebraska.

As of this afternoon, reports of roofs being blown off, power outages and some flooding in streets on South Padre Island have been reported.

Because the storm is still passing through southern Texas and Northern Mexico, the extent of the damage to home and business owners cannot be fully realized.

Dolly was given a Category 1 hurricane designation this afternoon as it continues to strengthen in the western Gulf of Mexico. Officials have advised residents of Texas’ barrier islands to consider evacuation immediately. Officials also stressed that heavy rains and flooding are the biggest concerns surrounding this July storm which will be heading into Texas’ Brownsville to Corpus Christi section of coastline. The storm is now expected to batter the area throughout Wednesday, potentially causing a heavy assault of torrential rain and battering waves along the coast. Some state officials are concerned about the potential for breaking levees and overflowing waterways.

Residents all over the area continue to board up homes and businesses and sandbag their homes.

For more on flood damage, check out Recovering From A Flood

Tropical Storm Dolly is gaining strength and heading toward the southern coast of Texas, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are reporting. The storm currently is registering winds of 70 mph; winds between 74-95 mph are considered a Category 1 hurricane. The storm is expected to hit the Texas coastline by midday Wednesday, July 23.

Hurricane warnings are now in effect from Brownsville to Corpus Christi, Texas as well as the northeast coast of Mexico. The storm, whether a tropical storm or a hurricane by the time it reaches land, is expected to create 4-8 inches of rain, with some areas seeing isolated amounts of 15 inches. 1200 National Guard troops have been activated.

Residents in the area are already gearing up and preparing for the potential wind and flood damage the storm may cause. Homes are being boarded up, supplies are being collected and important family possessions, documents and books are being moved and stored for protection.

For more on the latest Dolly News, visit CNN.com.

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AP photo courtesy of Michael Zamora, The Corpus Christi Caller-Times