CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For the city of Corpus Christi’s Emergency Management department and fire chief, it’s all hands on deck for Tuesday’s storms.
And while these plans are always in place in some form, Monday’s meeting with the National Weather Service allowed them to finalize a game plan for Tuesday.
"The plans are there,” said the city’s emergency manager Billy Delgado. “So we don’t make plans; We go over plans. And all the departments that are going to be responding to this event are ready to go."
Delgado said after meeting with the NWS, his department knows it can expect 30-40 mph winds, strong rip tides, and rainfall.
"This is a significant impact,” he said. “We haven’t had rain in a long time. People haven’t driven in the rain in a long time. So be very careful."
Delgado and his team say that if you have to get out in the rain to go to work, avoid low-lying areas and consider a different route.
"One thing, for sure, that we try to articulate is ‘turn around down drown,’ ” he said. “Don’t drive through high water -- you can’t see the bottom. You don’t know how deep it is."
Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said the last thing he wants is for a car to get swept away, and have the situation turn into a dangerous rescue mission, if it can be avoided.
"We have the still-water boats ready to go if we needed to evacuate a street,” he said. “They are ready to go. Our trucks are ready to roll."
Wade said CCFD will be monitoring the storm and urges everyone to download the city’s ‘Reverse Alert’ emergency notification system.
"If you’re not on Reverse Alert, get on Reverse Alert,” he said. “Go to reversealert.org, get on it and then you will be receiving messages from our office."