SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Island officials huddled in the city emergency command center contemplating their next move.
“We have our emergency team that is meeting multiple times a day,” said Dennis Stahl, South Padre Island mayor pro tem. “It’s going to be a bad storm.”
They took conference calls with the state and county and monitored the wind speed on the causeway with a mobile wind device.
And with the click of the mouse, a Swift911 announcement went out calling for homeowners on the Island to pick up their permit stickers.
Anyone without the permit will be questioned at a checkpoint to state their business and reason for wanting access to the Island.
Starting at 7 p.m. yesterday, the city ordered a checkpoint for people entering the Island, limiting entry to those with residential or business interests.
Stahl said the city will be cautious about who is coming onto the Island.
“We don’t want to see people leave the Island and looters see it as an opportunity while all of these homes are unoccupied,” he said.
He said police will be inspecting the streets, looking out for anyone who should not be around.
“We want our residents who do evacuate to be safe and their stuff that is left behind to be safe,” Stahl said.
The National Weather Service has predicted that South Padre Island will be affected by wind gusts of 45 to 70 miles per hour.
Surf is expected to reach 12 to 15 feet and surge well over the dunes, causing coastal flooding over a prolonged period beginning yesterday through today.
But above all, city leaders discussed the need to keep the resident’s safe and following the law when making the decision to close the bridge.
Stahl said it’s going to get wet on the Island, but nothing compared to what the Corpus Christi, Houston and San Antonio areas are anticipating.
The causeway was projected to be closed by midnight today.
Important South Padre Island official telephone numbers
Storm Information Hotline 956-761-8101
City Hall 956-761-6456
Fire Department 956-761-3040
Police Department 956-761-5454
Health and Code Enforcement 956-761-3226
Building Department 956-761-3217
Emergency Management 956-761-3210
Cameron County Judge 956-544-0830
Sheriff 956-544-0860
Office of Emergency Management 956-547-7000
State of Texas Department of Public Safety 956-440-6700
State of Texas Department of Transportation 956-542-2288
National Weather Service 956-504-1631
• County beaches closed
• City beaches closed
• Non-emergency Island city functions closed
• Island Metro services suspended
Sign up for Swift911, the City’s emergency notification system that sends out notifications directly to you via your home phone, cell phone and/or email, by going to www.myspi.org.
