Texas Gov. Rick Perry, though, wasn’t taking any chances, ordering the pre-deployment of state resources as Ike continues to track toward the Texas coast. This follows the governor’s disaster declaration for 88 counties, including Bell, on Monday and prepares the state to provide assistance to local officials.
“We continue to closely monitor this storm and are preparing accordingly for its potential impact on our communities,” Perry said in a press release on Tuesday.
Ike is making its way to the Gulf, and residents should pay attention, heed warnings from their local leaders, and take the steps necessary to protect their families, he said.
In the Temple area, bookings at local motels were already under way.
“We are nearly fully booked,” said Amy Smith, front desk supervisor at Howard Johnson.
While most bookings were originally made from the Louisiana area, Smith said they are now coming in from Texas.
“As soon as people from Louisiana cancel, we are filling it with a booking from Texas,” she said. “A lot of people are taking advantage of the weekly rate and will be staying from Thursday until Sunday.”
Farther south, in anticipation of Ike’s landfall, up to 1,350 buses are available in case evacuations are called for. Right now, San Antonio has 800 buses and Bee County has 150 buses ready to go where needed.
The National Weather Service Tuesday night classified Ike as a Category 1 hurricane with winds up to 75 mph. Reaching the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen it before making landfall. Current projections have the hurricane heading due north once landfall is made, and that could lead straight up the Interstate 35 corridor, but that may also change as Mother Nature loves to throw the occasional curve ball.
Bell County has an agreement to assist Brazoria County when there may be a need to evacuate because of intense hurricanes.
Judge E.J. “Joe” King decided against issuing a mandatory evacuation for Brazoria County on Tuesday after the latest tracking information for the storm indicated its landfall would likely be somewhere between Brownsville and Corpus Christi.
“As far as the storm itself, it looks like it is going to be a South Texas event,” said Dennis Baker, emergency management coordinator for Bell County. “At this point it does not appear we are going to be opening any shelters in this area.”
Baker said government officials in the state would watch the hurricane’s progress closely today because at about 7 p.m. it is expected to begin spinning in a more westerly direction.
“That will give a pretty clear indication of its path,” he said.
Temple has everything in place for evacuees, said Capt. Le Roy Vargas, Temple Fire and Rescue training officer.
“We have the people needed, if anything happens, identified and sites designated for evacuees in need.”
