Erin Thunderstorms Leave At Least 7 Dead

HOUSTON -- At a press conference in Houston on Friday, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett warned residents to start getting ready for Hurricane Dean, which could hit Texas as early as Wednesday evening.

HOUSTON — Recovery efforts were in full swing early Friday as water-logged Texas dealt with the rainy remnants of Tropical Storm Erin, which authorities said could be a prelude to Hurricane Dean as it gathered strength in the Atlantic.

At least seven people died Thursday in Erin's thunderstorms, which dropped up to 10 inches of rain in parts of San Antonio and Houston. Officials throughout central and southern Texas braced for the possibility of more rain Friday morning. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service forecasts up to 7 inches of rain in West Texas on Friday.

"The ground's already saturated, then with the amount of rain we got today it's just running off and causing flash flooding, so if we get additional rain it will be a major concern for us," said Orlando Hernandez, emergency management coordinator for Bexar County, where San Antonio is located.

HOUSTON – Tropical Storm Erin soaked the Houston and San Antonio areas on Thursday, killing at least two people.

Even as they helped dozens of stranded drivers, authorities in Houston and San Antonio looked over their shoulders at Hurricane Dean, a Category 2 storm and the first hurricane of the season in the Atlantic.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Remnants of Tropical Storm Erin flooded Houston on Thursday, causing a grocery store roof to collapse, killing one person.

As much as 6 inches of rain fell across Houston, inundating freeways and snarling traffic, after the storm came ashore 175 miles down the Texas Coast on Thursday.

One person died and another was injured when the roof over the loading dock area of a grocery store in southeast Houston collapsed, Assistant Fire Chief Jack Williams said.

Television reports showed people evacuating their vehicles, wading through waist-deep water and fighting through traffic jams.

483  
WFUS54 KCRP 161447  
TORCRP  
TXC025-297-161530-  
/O.NEW.KCRP.TO.W.0027.070816T1445Z-070816T1530Z/  
 
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED  
TORNADO WARNING  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CORPUS CHRISTI TX  
945 AM CDT THU AUG 16 2007  
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN CORPUS CHRISTI HAS ISSUED A  
 
* TORNADO WARNING FOR...  
NORTHWESTERN BEE COUNTY IN SOUTH TEXAS  
NORTH CENTRAL LIVE OAK COUNTY IN SOUTH TEXAS  
 
* UNTIL 1030 AM CDT  
 
* AT 940 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A  
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A TORNADO NEAR PAWNEE...OR  
ABOUT 14 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KENEDY...MOVING WEST-SOUTHWEST AT 5 TO  
10 MPH.  
 
* THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR...  
5 MILES SOUTH OF NELL BY 1005 AM CDT...  
9 MILES NORTH OF RAY POINT BY 1030 AM CDT...  
 
THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE DURING A TORNADO IS IN A BASEMENT. GET UNDER A  
WORKBENCH OR OTHER PIECE OF STURDY FURNITURE. IF NO BASEMENT IS  
AVAILABLE...SEEK SHELTER ON THE LOWEST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING IN AN  
INTERIOR HALLWAY OR ROOM SUCH AS A CLOSET. USE BLANKETS OR PILLOWS TO  
COVER YOUR BODY AND ALWAYS STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS.  
 
IF IN MOBILE HOMES OR VEHICLES...EVACUATE THEM AND GET INSIDE A  
SUBSTANTIAL SHELTER. IF NO SHELTER IS AVAILABLE...LIE FLAT IN THE  
NEAREST DITCH OR OTHER LOW SPOT AND COVER YOUR HEAD WITH YOUR HANDS.  
 
LAT...LON 2858 9787 2873 9795 2867 9824 2844 9811  
 

---

 
 
JTR  

Tropical Storm Erin was reduced to a tropical depression at 7 a.m. by the National Hurricane Center, ending tropical storm warnings for the Texas coast.

“You can’t hit these things right on the hour,” said Greg Wilk, meteorologist for the National Weather Service Corpus Christi.

At 7:25 a.m. the center of the depression was near Lamar, about 25 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, he said.

“The main concern for Corpus Christi area is heavy rainfall with the potential for flooding,” Wilk said. “The already saturated ground won’t handle too much water.”

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some vacationers packed up while others vowed to wait out Tropical Storm Erin and its torrential rainfall as it headed for flood-weary Texas early Thursday.

Erin was not expected to gain hurricane strength before making landfall Thursday morning, which was why some said they wouldn't abandon long-planned trips to the coast.

"It's not a hurricane. I ain't worried. If they say don't evacuate, I'm not going to worry about it," said Matt Sandlin of Amarillo, who was on a beach near Corpus Christi with his family on Wednesday as the wind whipped up and the horizon darkened with clouds. "Unless I see a shark or whale go flying by, I'm good."