Gulf storm rolls toward Texas, La.
GALVESTON, Texas - Residents along the Texas and Louisiana coasts prepared yesterday for Tropical Storm Edouard, which was rolling through the warm waters of the Gulf and threatening to reach near-hurricane strength before making landfall.
In Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal declared a statewide emergency, and two communities in the western part of the state, Vermilion Parish and Cameron Parish, asked thousands of residents to evacuate low-lying coastal areas that are prone to flooding. The storm was expected to hit this morning anywhere from western Louisiana to Port O'Connor, Texas.
For vacationers, the timing of the storm couldn't be worse: The Texas coast banks on tourism at this time of year, with much of the state baking in 100-degree weather. The storm also comes in the wake of Hurricane Dolly, which took aim at the resort community of South Padre Island on July 23.
"This is not the time of year for anyone along the Texas coast to be interrupted by these storms," said Dan Quandt, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. "A lot of people come just to get out of the heat."
Forecasters say Edouard is likely to hit west of Galveston, which is in the peak of its tourist season, when the city's population of about 60,000 doubles. While the storm-seasoned town was watching the storm, no evacuations were ordered and local officials were merely urging caution.
"We are not telling anybody to leave," said Galveston's mayor, Lyda Ann Thomas. "We are asking citizens and our visitors to pay attention to the weather and use their own judgment as to whether to ride out the storm on the island, knowing there will be power outages during the night or tomorrow."
Connie Porter, owner of Avenue O Bed and Breakfast in Galveston, said she planned to watch the progression of the storm yesterday, but she wasn't worried about it. She said a storm like the one being described might mean some debris and that people should take care of patio furniture, but she didn't anticipate much more.
As Edouard approached, oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated workers from 23 production platforms and six rigs, according to the US Minerals Management Service, which monitors offshore activity. The Gulf of Mexico has 717 manned platforms and 125 operating rigs, the MMS said.
Edouard is not likely to disrupt production, according to one financial firm that specializes in the energy industry. 