ROCKPORT, Texas — Rockport Mayor Patrick Rios said while his team was prepared for Tropical Storm Nicholas, they are glad they didn't have to put their plan into action Monday evening.
The storm is expected to make landfall near Matagorda Bay.
"We had been watching the storm since last Thursday, doing calls this weekend," Rios said. "The entire team was watching the events as they unfolded, talking to the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center and we've been on alert and ready to go."
"We believe we were prepared for it, but we'd rather be prepared and not have to go into action. But this is a blessing for us to have this storm miss us," he added.
He was also grateful the storm didn't cause major damage because some areas were impacted by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and again a year later due to flooding. In Key Allegro, the mayor spoke about a bridge project that has taken about four years to get underway. Rios said work just started over the summer and it's expected to be completed next year in May or June.
"We're just thankful again the storm missed us. If not, it would have been a huge setback for us if this work had of been damaged," he explained.
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo shared similar sentiments. Earlier during the evening she announced the emergency operations center had been closed. However, they too are still monitoring conditions.
"We're very grateful that the storm did not affect us directly," Guajardo said. "However, it’s a good reminder of the things we need to do of keeping in constant contact with our residents and being proactive."
The Rockport-Fulton area still saw strong wind gusts push waves forcefully along the shoreline. However, the storm surge is expected to improve.