As San Antonio Readied for Hurricane Harvey, Hundreds of Evacuees Arrived

Sean Breslin
Published: August 26,2017
Hundreds of evacuees arrived in San Antonio on Friday as Hurricane Harvey inched toward the coast, but with the city expected to experience flooding of its own, officials were preparing for the worst.
"We're in a bit of flash flood alley ... so we're making sure everyone is aware of the weather situation," San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg said during an interview on The Weather Channel on Friday.
(MORE: The Latest Forecast for Harvey)

Wind and Rain Forecast

Nirenberg told the San Antonio Express-News that the city made 6,000 beds available for evacuees coming from the Texas coast. Gov. Greg Abbott toured a shelter in the city Friday that housed 300 evacuees.
During a press briefing at the shelter, Abbott asked President Donald Trump for a presidential disaster declaration, which would allow federal money to be used in areas heavily damaged by Harvey. Trump granted the request in a tweet Friday night.
Abbott mobilized more than 900 Texas Guardman to support emergency teams.
On the north side of town, residents of one neighborhood that experienced separate damaging flood, hailstorm and tornado events since 2013 were preparing for the possibility of another flood.
"We're just hoping for the best," resident Nancy Soto told KSAT.com. "Don't think it can be any worse than what happened in February."
(MORE: Harvey Impacts in Houston | Corpus Christi | Louisiana)
Soto referenced an event when several tornadoes were spawned in the San Antonio area in February, damaging upwards of 100 structures. But the survivors of those weather disasters believe they're better prepared for Harvey as a result, and they're not panicked as the storm closes in.
"Whatever happens, just take it day by day. Have a lot of patience," Soto told KSAT. "It’s a process."
Many weekend events were canceled in San Antonio because of the storm, according to a separate Express-News report.
The National Weather Service is predicting severe flooding through Wednesday in towns along the Guadalupe and San Antonio rivers that lie between the Interstate 35 corridor and the coast.

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