(August 19, 2007)--Texas officials were in emergency mode today, making preparations in case Hurricane Dean strikes the already waterlogged state after charging through the Caribbean.

Dean was several days away and its path was still uncertain, but emergency management officials in Cameron County in South Texas opened emergency operations centers and urged residents to evacuate voluntarily.

The state sent uniformed personnel and aircraft, and hundreds of buses were readied for possible evacuations.

A state of emergency was declared in South Padre Island and The Texas Youth Commission relocated 269 inmates and staff members from a facility in Edinburg.

State prison officials also began evacuating inmates from three Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities in South Texas.

The threat from Dean and its torrential rainfall came as parts of Texas were still cleaning up from the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Erin last week.

One woman died in flooding in Taylor County yesterday and about 1,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes in Abilene today following heavy rains late in the week.

Dean is classified as a Category 4 storm with top sustained wind of 145 miles per hour.

Gov. Rick Perry has already activated more than 4,700 military personnel, and he says up to 10,000 could be mobilized if the hurricane strikes Texas.

Also on standby are nearly 50 utility and cargo military helicopters, 250 special boat crews, and more than 1,000 buses and drivers in San Antonio that are ready to transport special needs evacuees.

The president’s declaration allows the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts and take emergency steps to protect life and property in Aransas, Bee, Bexar, Brazoria, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Dallas, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Harris, Hidalgo, Jackson, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Live Oak, Kleberg, Matagorda, McLennan, Nacogdoches, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Smith, Tarrant, Travis, Victoria, Walker, Wharton, and Willacy Counties.

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