Year’s first Atlantic hurricane Hanna batters Covid-hit Texas
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS: A day after roaring ashore as a hurricane, Hanna lashed the Texas Gulf Coast on Sunday with high winds and drenching rains that destroyed boats, flooded streets and knocked out power across a region already reeling from a surge in coronavirus cases.
Downgraded to a tropical storm, Hanna hovered over the Us-mexico border in the morning with winds near 50mph (85 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to unload as much as 18 inches of rain (45 centimetres) on parts of South Texas and northeastern Mexico.
Daniel Brown, a senior hurricane specialist, urged people in flooded areas to shelter in place.
Shelters were opened in hotels, schools and gyms. In Hidalgo County, Texas, a community building in the town of Mercedes known as the “Dome” was set aside for evacuees who had tested positive for Covid-19 or were exposed to the virus. The county instructed those who needed shelter to bring masks and hand sanitizer if they could.
Coastal states scrambled this spring to adjust emergency hurricane plans to account for the virus, and Hanna was the first big test. Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that some people in need of shelter would be given hotel rooms to keep them apart from others.
“We cannot allow this hurricane to lead to a more catastrophically deadly event by stoking additional spread of Covid-19 that could lead to fatalities,” he said.
The first hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season blew ashore as a Category 1 storm late Saturday afternoon with winds of 90mph (145 kph) not far from Port Mansfield, which is about 130 miles (210 kilometers) south of Corpus Christi.
Parts of South Texas had gotten at least 9 inches (23 centimetres) of rain, including Cameron County, which includes Brownsville. More than 180,000 customers were without power Sunday morning throughout South Texas, including Corpus Christi, Harlingen and Brownsville.
In the Pacific Ocean, meanwhile, Hurricane Douglas closed in on Hawaii over the weekend.