Coastal Texas Residents Getting Ready For Harvey
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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (CBSMiami) – Texans are getting ready for Hurricane Harvey which is forecast to make landfall on Friday.
At McCoy's Building Supply in Corpus Christi, people were buying plywood Thursday so they could board up their home's windows.
"It's almost a necessity, you know," said Aciano Rodriguez, who bought eight sheets of plywood.
Rodriguez said he's no stranger to severe weather in Corpus Christi. He's live in the same house since 1968, a property that has survived some really bad weather events like hurricanes Celia and Brett.
He said when a big storm threatens, he doesn't take any chances.
"Yeah, we just board it up and we head out of town."
Brandon Little was also buying supplies, plywood and screws, to play it safe.
"Just putting up, just a precaution. Just in case. But not really nervous at all. I've been through storms before," he said.
The National Hurricane Center is calling Hurricane Harvey "life-threatening."
For the first time, the National Weather Service issued an official storm surge warning, covering most of the Texas coastline.
The surge in Corpus Christi could be as much as ten feet, putting residents in low-lying areas in harm's way.
It's why sand bags are in high demand. The city is offering them free to residents, along with sand, but they have to fill their own bags. There's a 20 bag limit.
Billy Delgado, the city's emergency planning coordinator, said most city departments have been preparing for severe weather from Harvey since Monday.
"The city is prepared, we've been through this so we're confident in our plans," he said.
Those preparations included one major project – cleaning out the storm drains to prevent flooding around town.
"Since monday our departments have been assessing storm drains and clearing inlets of any debris, they've looked at pre-positioning the storm gates as surge protection against downtown flooding," said city spokeswoman Kim Womack.
Meanwhile, the city's police and fire departments have stationed high water vehicles around town in case someone finds themselves stranded by flood waters.
"We are recommending in the strongest terms that you get out and begin to get out now," said Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb.
