Flooding feared along U.S.-Mexico border from Dolly
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - Hurricane Dolly, whichlashed the U.S.-Mexico coastline, was expected to weaken to atropical depression later on Thursday but concern remained overflooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley.
The full effect of the flooding might not be seen for daysas rain flows into the region that is home to more than 1million people.
Dolly, the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic stormseason to cross land, dumped up to 12 inches (30 cm) of rain inthe first hours after coming ashore at the barrier island ofSouth Padre Island on Wednesday, where it ripped off roofs andsnapped trees.
About 245,000 homes in the valley were without power onThursday afternoon, according to the state's grid operator.
Dolly was downgraded to a tropical storm late on Wednesdayand remained at that strength as it moved inland, dumpingenormous amounts of rain on south Texas and northeast Mexicoand with sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph).
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre in Miami said it couldproduce total rainfall of up to 20 inches (50 cm) in someplaces. "These rains are very likely to cause widespreadflooding," it said.
The Centre of the storm at 2 p.m. EDT (7:00 p.m. Britishtime) was 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Laredo, Texas, near theborder.
DISASTER AREAS
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has put 1,200 National Guard troopson alert in case they are needed to help cope with the storm'saftermath.
There were no reports that levees along the Rio Grande hadbeen breached.
The Bush administration declared 15 of the Texas countieshit hardest by the storm as disaster areas, allowing them todraw on federal funds for cleanup and rebuilding.
In South Padre Island, residents emerged from their homesand shelters to walk through streets littered with debris,toppled street lights and downed power poles.
"Everything is gone. Everything got wet," said AmberAcevado, who runs a flooring store on the island. "You standhere inside the store, you can see right through to theoutside."
Many residents and tourists trapped on the island by thestorm left after a causeway to the mainland reopened.
Offshore drilling rigs and production platforms in the Gulfof Mexico emerged from the storm mostly unscathed.
U.S. crude oil prices rose earlier this week on worries ofpossible storm damage to offshore drilling rigs. But oil pricesfell after the storm barely dented supplies, hitting a 7-weeklow of $123.50 a barrel on Thursday.
In Mexico, Dolly flooded towns along the northeast coast upto waist level, and a man was killed in the border city ofMatamoros when power cables fell into floodwater andelectrocuted him, local authorities said.
Mexico's navy on Wednesday recovered the body of afisherman who had vanished off the Yucatan Peninsula as thestorm passed through.
In South Padre Island, a 17-year-old boy was seriouslyinjured when he fell seven stories from a condominium balconyduring the storm.
(Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio, TomasBravo in Playa Bagdad, Mexico, Jose Cortazar in Cancun, Mexicoand Catherine Bremer in Mexico City; Writing by ChrisBaltimore; Editing by Xavier Briand)
(For latest U.S. National Hurricane Centre reports, seehttp://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ )