CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Rockport is preparing for what's to come with the upcoming tropical storm. The area is expected to see heavy rain and winds into Tuesday evening.
The city's public works division said they have several ways of preparing for storms, especially during hurricane season. One of the plans is that they're developing a county-wide storm water management group to help during times like this. It was created because of the lasting impact from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
“We’re out right now, checking all of our storm boxes and everything else," Rockport Director of Public Works Mike Donoho said. "We're making sure that everything is clear, doing everything we can because we haven’t had rain in such a long period of time. We hope that the ground will absorb most of the water that’s coming. We have retention in the detention ponds throughout the community.”
Rockport and it’s surrounding cities are typically low-lying areas, which increases the changes of flooding.
Donoho is also encouraging people to tie down any loose items in their yard to avoid flying debris.
“It’s time now to enact your plan to ensure that you’ve picked up all the debris. The flying objects that could come into your yard. The things that would move around in heavy winds. Pick up the plants, pick up trash cans, pool floats, anything else that can blow in the wind," he said.
The city is encouraging people to remember the phrase, "Turn around, don’t drown." This means if you see a street that has high water, do not try and drive through it.
But the city is not the only group preparing for what’s to come.
Rockport-Fulton Independent School District said weather could put a pause on all campus activities. The district said they're also taking precaution due to other storms that have rocked the area.
“We’re making sure we’re putting sandbags on areas we know water has gotten in before. We have some courtyards that have what’s called a sump pump to keep water from getting in and making sure those are operational," Rockport-Fulton ISD Director of Operations Mike Nowotny said.
The district said they’re mirroring the city by clearing out drains and making sure they don’t not clogged with excess water.
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