- Upcoming storm in the Coastal Bend has some people on the island worried, and some not phased
- Marker 37 on Padre Island is in an area prone to flooding and boaters were taking their boats up to land
- Workers and boaters are concerned about boats floating away or getting flooded
- Resilience Action Fund says do not take major storms lightly
With the upcoming storm hitting the Coastal Bend, it's no surprise that Padre Island will get hit with major flooding. Marker 37 is in an area that is prone to flooding, and people were securing their boats on Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming storm.
“So, some of the boats, like they sit kind of low in the water or whatever like in the slips and stuff. If the water level gets too high, they could just like float out and go away, you know. And then, some of them they’ll just fill up with water and silk, so you don’t want that happening," Connor Schultz, a Marker 37 employee said.
Some of the daily guided fishing tours at Marker 37 were canceled on Tuesday in anticipation of rain.
“Some people went out fishing, a lot of the guides canceled their trips and stuff, And you know, people just getting their boats out of the water and stuff so they don’t float away and stuff," Schultz said.
While Marker 37 is taking storm precautions, some fishermen and women out there are not as concerned about the storm.
“I’m crazy enough to come out here while it’s storming, I don’t care," John Weathington, a vacationer visiting from Burleson, Texas said.
The Weathingtons are not letting the storm rain on their parade.
“I’ve caught sting ray. We’ve caught catfish, the hard heads, gaff-topsail. I’d catch anything right now and be happy with it," Weathington said.
The Resilience Action Fund, a nonprofit helping with natural disaster recovery, says to not take major storms lightly, even if they don't reach hurricane status.
“And I think in Texas, you know what happened to Houston, I think a lot of people remember that very closely. So, the rain, it can do, and the water can do a lot more damage both to buildings, and obviously to harm to people than the wind can.” Aris Papadopoulos, Chair of the Resilience Action Fund said.
While boat flooding is a major concern of islanders, so is the flooding of the roads.
“My biggest concern, It gets really flooded around like in the parking lot and stuff. Like really bad. And on the bridge, or on the Causeway, I mean, and stuff like that and on the streets," Schultz said.
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