Hurricane Dolly Slams Ashore in South Texas

Cleanup begins; oil industry infrastructure largely spared.

As the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season quickly approaches, hurricane Dolly slammed ashore in south Texas, bringing with it as much as twelve inches of rain in some locations, further exacerbated by 100 mph winds. The Category 2 hurricane made landfall at about noon on Wednesday and then moved inland where it was downgraded to a tropical storm. The storm is expected to be completely over by Friday, said forecasters.

U.S. government forecasters have predicted as many as 16 named storms this season, of which about half are expected to develop into hurricanes. Dolly was the fourth such storm to be named this year, and one of two to develop into a hurricane. Gulf Coast oil refineries and offshore installations braced for the worst and employees were evacuated from some platforms, especially those closest to Mexico. There were no immediate reports of damage or oil pollution in the immediate wake of this season's first hurricane to carry over into the U.S. Gulf, and the first to hit Texas since last September.

Oil and natural gas companies were said to be restoring production on Thursday morning in the U.S. Gulf. But, the weakened tropical storm continued to affect local shipping and refineries along the Texas coast in both Houston and Corpus Christi. Traffic was halted at both ports while local officials waited for the storm's fury to subside.

At least 14 Texas counties were declared disaster areas and national guard troops were mobilized in advance of the hurricane's landfall. Still, only one serious injury was reported in Texas and no immediate reports of deaths in Mexico were received. Widespread flooding was being experienced in some areas.


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