Associated Press
The U.S. state of Texas mobilized National Guard troops, and residents along the Gulf Coast near the Mexican border were buying plywood, flashlights and gasoline as tropical storm Dolly gained strength Tuesday over the Gulf on its way to becoming a hurricane before it hits land.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for parts of the Texas and Mexico coasts, meaning hurricane conditions were expected in those areas by the end of Tuesday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Dolly's winds were expected to strengthen before landfall to hurricane force, which would mean at least 74 miles an hour (about 120 kilometers an hour).
At 11 a.m. EDT, data from a NOAA plane indicated maximum sustained winds had increased to near 70 miles an hour (112 kilometers an hour) with higher gusts.
Dolly was expected to make landfall later this week and bring with it high winds and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain and coastal storm surge flooding of 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) above normal high tide levels.
Preparations
Emergency officials feared major flooding problems and urged coastal residents to prepare. Texas Governor Rick Perry activated 1,200 National Guard troops and other emergency crews and Shell Oil said it was evacuating workers from oil rigs in the western Gulf of Mexico. Shell said it didn't expect its production to be affected by the storm.
Business was brisk Tuesday morning at a Wal-Mart in Edinburg, 15 miles from the Mexican border, but it wasn't as crowded as it had been the night before. Kerri Urdaz, 31, of McAllen, Texas, loaded ice, water, and batteries into her car, while her two-year-old daughter Claire watched from the shopping cart.
"It wasn't too bad," Urdaz said of the last-minute shopping. "That's why we woke up and came in early before the rush."
Urdaz said they're clearing everything that's loose out of the yard at home.
"We're just expecting lots of rain."
Jesus Gil was lifting large coolers into the back of his pickup truck and had bought flashlights and batteries, bracing for the storm at both work and home.
