By Joe Mitchell
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - Hurricane Dolly, whichunleashed a fury of winds and rain on the U.S.-Mexicocoastline, weakened to a tropical storm on Thursday but concernremained over flooding along the populous Rio Grande Valley.
The Bush administration declared 15 of the Texas countieshit hardest by the storm as a disaster area, allowing them todraw on federal funds for cleanup and rebuilding.
More than 200,000 customers of American Electric Power'sTexas unit, which serves the affected area, were without poweron Thursday morning.
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.
Residents emerged from their homes and shelters to walkthrough streets littered with debris, toppled street lights anddowned power poles.
"Everything is gone. Everything got wet," said AmberAcevado, who runs a flooring store on South Padre Island. "Youstand here 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.
The storm missed most offshore drilling rigs and productionplatforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
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, and hit a 7-weeklow of $123.62 a barrel on Thursday.
POST-DOLLY FLOODING FEARED
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 50 mph (80 kmh). It was expected toweaken further to a tropical depression later on Thursday.
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre in Miami said it couldproduce total rainfall of up to 20 inches (51 cm) in someplaces. "These rains are very likely to cause widespreadflooding," the centre said.
The storm was centred near Laredo, Texas, the NHC said in areport issued at 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. British time).
The full effect of the flooding might not be seen for daysas the rainfall flowed into the Rio Grande Valley, home to morethan 1 million people.
There were no immediate reports that levees along the RioGrande had been breached.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has put 1,200 National Guard troopson alert in case they are needed to help cope with the storm'saftermath.
Mexico's navy on Wednesday recovered the body of afisherman who had gone missing off the Yucatan Peninsula as thestorm passed through.
The only other reported casualty from the storm so far wasa 17-year-old boy who was seriously injured when he fell sevenstories from a condominium balcony in South Padre Island.
(Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio;Writing by Chris Baltimore, editing by David Storey)
(For latest U.S. National Hurricane Centre reports, seehttp://www.nhc.noaa.gov/)
