(August 20, 2007)—Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that while "it appears Texas is going to be spared a direct hit" by Hurricane Dean, that "doesn't mean that we're going to escapecompletely unscathed."

"The latest projections that you have seen is that hurricane Dean is going to be a category 3 or 4 by the time it makes landfall in northern Mexico either late Wednesday or early Thursday,” Perry said.

“But that doesn't mean we're going to escape completely.

“Even if it continues on its current tract, this storm is going to bring heavy rain and flooding to South Texas,” he said.

At 1 p.m. Monday, Dean was about 330 miles east of Belize City with 150 mile-per-hour sustained winds.

Forecasters say Dean is likely to strengthen into a Category 5 storm before it makes landfall early Tuesday morning.

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the entire coastline of Belize along the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula northward to Cancun and along the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula from south of Progresso southward to Ciudad Del Carmen.

The hurricane warnings and watches are all south of the border, but Texas continues to mobilize its response to a possible landfall.

The National Guard is mobilized even though forecasters say it's growing increasingly apparent that the Category 4 hurricane is heading for the Mexican Gulf Coast.

But the storm is still on the Caribbean side of the Yucatan Peninsula and days away from final landfall.

Perry urged Texans to watch news, monitor radios and to remain vigilant for any changes in the hurricane's direction or intensity.

State emergency officials also warned that they'll be watching for what Dean does once it reaches the warm waters of the Gulf.

After hurricanes Rita and Katrina the governor says Texas has learned from the past and is well equipped to assist residents.

Thousands of buses and helicopters are in place to evacuate people.

"We learned a lot over the past few years particularly the 2005 season. We have applied those lessons. We practiced. We have gamed out, if you will. We've drilled and then we practiced a little bit more. We are ready to deal with this storm. And Texans can be confident that we have activated the resources to handle whatever Dean throws our way,” Perry said.

Officials in Cameron County at the state's southernmost tip have opened emergency operations centers and urged residents to evacuate voluntarily.

South Texas prison inmates are being moved to inland prisons.

In South Padre Island, city officials distributed sandbags after a state of emergency was declared.

And the state has sent uniformed personnel and aircraft, and hundreds of buses are ready for possible evacuations.

President Bush has signed a pre-landfall emergency disaster declaration for Texas, which allows federal equipment and supplies to be moved in now.

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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