Harlingen hurricane update

HARLINGEN - It's being called the worst storm to hit Harlingen in 41 years.

"In my opinion, (Hurricane Dolly) is the most significant storm since Beulah, as far as the most destructive to the city," Mayor Chris Boswell said Thursday. "We're still concerned that this event is not over. We're watching water levels at the Arroyo (Colorado)."

Hurricane Beulah hit the Brownsville-Harlingen area in 1967 as a Category 3 hurricane.

Dolly was originally a Category 1 storm, but strengthened to a Category 2 as it made landfall Wednesday, leaving behind flooded streets, fallen signs and light posts, uprooted trees, shredded billboards, decapitated houses and more than 200,000 people throughout the Rio Grande Valley without electricity.

City Manager Craig Lonon said Thursday that cleanup efforts have begun in the city, but added, "It's going to be a long haul."

Boswell and Lonon said they did not have an overall damage assessment for the city on Thursday because relief efforts had just begun.

"When we go out to look at one thing, there's so many things we're seeing when we're out there. We haven't seen the whole picture," Lonon said.

Damage throughout the city includes broken windows and torn roofs at businesses in the downtown area, as well as debris and water on roadways, he said.

About 30 windows blew out at Valley Baptist Medical Center, Boswell added.

"It's going to be a massive cleanup effort," Boswell said. "Every street in the city has downed tree limbs and debris."

But Boswell added that he was pleased to see how quickly water was receding Thursday, especially in areas that received a lot of water, such as Jackson Avenue, 77 Sunshine Strip, Sixth Street, Commerce Street, F Street, Buchanan Avenue and the areas west of First Street.

Assistant City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said Thursday that water from the faucet is potable and that sewer service should be working as usual.

On Thursday, some 267 people were still taking refuge at the storm shelter at Harlingen High School South, which remained without electricity, Lonon said.

The Red Cross staffed the shelter Thursday and set up a portable kitchen to distribute food.

The Salvation Army also set up a portable kitchen at Second Street and Monroe Avenue and the Texas Army National Guard set up a third portable kitchen at the Texas State Technical College support center at Rio Hondo Road and Loop 499.

Food was distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis and went quickly, a security officer at TSTC said.

The State Emergency Operations Center will provide ice and water at Harlingen South as long as there is a need and demand for it, Boswell said. He did not know when the water and ice would be distributed.

The mayor also said there is no timeline to complete the cleanup and relief efforts in Harlingen, but said residents need to be patient, cooperative and careful.