Long lines wrapped around checkout counters at a Walmart in Cypress, Texas, as suddenly water and toilet paper become as scarce as when the coronavirus pandemic began.
But it is not fresh fears over the virus that have triggered renewed panic shopping. It is the terrifying prospect of a major hurricane barreling out of the warm Gulf waters and heading straight for the Texas-Lousiana border area. So among the grocery provisions, people are also buying up plywood to shore up their homes and businesses.
Almost half a million people have been told to move out of the way of the storm. A mandatory evacuation order went into place for the beach town of Galveston and in a tweet, Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, urged residents to stay off the roads so those evacuating have access to highways.
Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner)This is a serious event and we should treat it as such. If #HurricaneLaura moves more to the west, then our preparation time will be shorter.
August 25, 2020
I am asking Houstonians to be off the road by 8pm tomorrow if not sooner. You should be where you are at that time. #houwx
In a press conference, Harris county judge Lina Hidalgo said: “Take action now. Prepare for the worst.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Dr John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas state climatologist, said: “At this point, the track forecast has a landfall point of the Texas-Louisiana border. That would spare Houston and Galveston from any catastrophic storm surge because it’s moving east. But they would still be subject to strong winds depending on the exact point of landfall.”
More than 385,000 residents have been told to flee the Texas cities of Beaumont, Galveston and Port Arthur, and another 200,000 people ordered to leave Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana, where forecasters said storm surges as high as 13ft could hit.
Nielsen-Gammon said that while coastal cities and communities will bear most of the damage, inland cities will see heavy rainfall.
“If sea levels haven’t started rising yet, they’ll start rising soon, which presents a danger to those in barrier islands like Beaumont, Lake Charles and Lafayette,” Nielsen-Gammon said.
A day ago, on 25 August, was the third anniversary of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall date, which caused lasting devastation for those in south-east Texas. Houston resident Kevin Mureira, whose neighborhood flooded in 2017, said he hopes he never sees anything like Harvey again.
“Each time I check the news, it keeps getting worse,” Mureira said. “But at the same time, I’m chill and not freaking out about it.”
Mureira works at HEB, one of the largest grocery store chains in the state. He said between hurricane season and a global pandemic, it’s a busy time for supermarkets.
“Once people started getting off work, that’s when it really got crazy. There were lines at every gas station,” Mureira said. “People were panicking and buying supplies just like they were at the beginning of the pandemic. A lot of people are definitely scared and freaking out.”
Texas homeowner Kelly Cosme is worried, as the natural disaster of a hurricane feels like trouble adding upon trouble as the state grapples with the pandemic and the economic hardships it has brought in its wake.
“I’m nervous because being a homeowner comes with a lot of issues you don’t have when you’re a kid or renting and you’re carefree. I worry about having to replace my roof whenever a storm with high winds is approaching,” Cosme said. “I can’t sleep because I wake up panicking because I’m scared my A/C is going to blow a fuse or my roof will blow off like in the Wizard of Oz.”
Cosme said her fears are common place for people like her who are the sole supporter of their households.
“I live with my elderly father so the worry of him getting Covid and the added pressure of a hurricane coming is a lot at once. Not everyone can have a huge savings account and something to rely on,” Cosme said. “I don’t know what can happen and I don’t know if I can afford to deal with it if something happens. Most people live paycheck to paycheck.”
source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/26/hurricane-laura-texas
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