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1,200 Texas guardsmen called for hurricane

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry called up 1,200 Texas guardsmen Tuesday to help with the effects of Hurricane Dolly as it closes on in towns straddling the state’s border with Mexico.

The Category 2 hurricane was expected to making landfall around midday Wednesday, bringing with it 96 mph winds, up to 15 inches of rain and storm surge flooding of 4 to 6 feet above normal high tide levels.

Maj. Jose Rivera of the Texas Army National Guard said troops were preparing at armories in Houston, Austin and San Antonio.

Also, the Navy began flying 104 of its aircraft out of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi to bases inland.

Cities and counties in the heavily populated Rio Grande Valley were preparing Tuesday night as officials feared heavy rains could cause massive flooding and levee breaks.

Texas officials urged residents to move away from the Rio Grande levees because if Dolly continues to follow the same path as 1967’s Hurricane Beulah, “the levees are not going to hold that much water,” said Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Johnny Cavazos. Beulah spawned more than 100 tornadoes across Texas and dumped 36 inches of rain in some parts of south Texas, killing 58 people and causing more than $1 billion damage.

Cavazos said up to 400 people were in nine shelters in Cameron County, with more steadily trickling in. In Hidalgo County, a little bit farther inland, seven shelters holding about 400 people were open, said Cari Lambrecht, a county spokeswoman. She said people living in low-lying areas were encouraged to come to shelters.

“It’s so much easier for them to go now instead of us having to pull them out later,” she said.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that based on Dolly’s projected path, about 1.5 million Texans could feel the storm’s effects.