Perry Issues Disaster Declaration For Presidio County
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FROM THE DOPPLER 10 FORECAST CENTER: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY EFFECTIVE UNTIL 6 PM SUNDAY FOR MILLS, HAMILTON, BOSQUE, HILL, NAVARRO, FREESTONE, LAMPASAS, CORYELL, BELL, MCLENNAN, FALLS, LIMESTONE, LEON, MILAM AND ROBERTSON COUNTIES….WIND BUSTS BETWEEN 35 MPH AND 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED THROUGHOUT THE DAY…THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS THERE IS HIGH FIRE DANGER SUNDAY AFTERNOON WEST OF AN EASTLAND TO HAMILTON TO CAMERON LINE...NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH THIS AFTERNOON WILL COMBINE WITH AFTERNOON HUMIDITY VALUES OF LESS THAN 30 PERCENT TO CREATE A HIGH FIRE DANGER…
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Perry Issues Disaster Declaration For Presidio County
Gov. Rick Perry has issued a disaster declaration for Presidio County after a levee that protects the county from the swelling Rio Grande failed.
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(September 19, 2008)—Gov. Rick Perry has issued a disaster declaration and is seeking a presidential declaration for Presidio County after the failure of a levee that protects Presidio from the swelling Rio Grande.

The levee failed Thursday and water is creeping toward populated areas of the normally dusty West Texas border town.

In a statement, Perry said the situation "poses an immediate danger to the residents of Presidio."

The governor authorized the use of five CH-47 helicopters, which officials say will be used to drop large sand bags around a railroad trestle.

In addition, 150 prisoners are being brought in from a low-security facility to help fill sandbags to create a dam.

Officials say a second levee failure is probable and that if it happens in an area upriver from the makeshift dam, "all bets are off" on the trestle plan.

Rio Grande levels appeared lower Friday, and residents reported the water is receding.

The levee break is on the eastern edge of the town of 5,000 people about 250 miles down river from El Paso.

But the town is far from in the clear after two weeks of watching the river that divides it from Ojinaga, Mexico.

The Rio Grande has been rising because of heavy rains and the forced release of water from the flood-stricken Luis Leon Reservoir on the Rio Conchos in Mexico.
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