CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Gulf and bay beaches are closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said Thursday, as tides are anticipated to be significantly higher than normal with Tropical Storm Hanna nearing the Coastal Bend.
“People need to -- they should not be going down there surfing," Zanoni said. "You shouldn’t be going swimming. You shouldn’t be going fishing."
Beaches, along with corresponding parking lots at Packery Channel and on Windward, will be closed beginning at noon Friday and will reopen at 6 a.m. Monday. Lifeguards will not be on duty at the beaches.
"You need to keep in the back of your mind the protection that’s there -- our city lifeguards -- will not be there," he said.
Zanoni said tides recently have been higher than normal, by about a foot, and they're expected to cause higher and dangerous rip currents for even the most skilled swimmer.
Mayor Joe McComb sought to ease the fears of some residents that the city's emergency responsiveness isn't capable of handling an natural disaster amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Don’t feel that since we’ve been fighting COVID for five months that we’re out of energy or we’re out of gas," he said. "We’re not. We can do these two things together, and we’re going to win both of them.”
