Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Prepares 23 Counties for Hurricane Marco

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared on Sunday a state of disaster for 23 counties in Texas as Hurricane Marco approaches.

Abbott has also requested an assistance from the federal government as Hurricane Marco is expected to make a landfall in Louisiana on Monday before moving into East Texas.

The Texas counties under state of disaster are Aransas, Bexar, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Harris. Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Kenedy, Kleberg, Liberty. Matagorda, Newton, Nueces, Orange. Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, and Willacy.

Weather forecasters are expecting sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

Aside from Hurricane Marco, Tropical Storm Laura is also seen to advance into central Gulf Coast on late Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said the storm has a possibility of being strong enough to be a hurricane.

"As Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura approach Texas, the state is taking necessary precautions to protect our communities and keep Texans safe," Abbott was quoted in a report.

Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Department of Emergency Management, said the storm models have a high degree of uncertainty.

However, Kidd said that Texas is fully prepared for both storms.

If the storms are to land as expected, they could mark the second significant disaster during the 2020 hurricane season in Texas.

This followed by Hurricane Hana with more than 15 inches of rain on South Texas in the late July, as the state fights being the coronavirus hotspot.

Abbott said it is important for anybody who could be in the path of these storms to always heed the warning of what could happen in your community.

The governor added that everybody should understand that the storm is moving swiftly and there could be rising water levels quickly.

Hurricane Marco

The National Hurricane Center upgraded Marco into a hurricane in Sunday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.

The weather forecaster center warned that it could bring "life-threatening" storm surge.

Hurricane Marco is seen to make a direct hit on Louisiana on Monday. The hurricane would be hitting New Orleans with hurricane-force winds.

This with several inches of rain through the area and into North Texas.

The storm was located about 395 miles southeast of Lafayette as of Sunday.

The hurricane center said that dry areas near the coast could experience flooding moving inland from the shoreline.

Tropical Storm Laura

Meanwhile, the Tropical Storm Laura is expected to hit Louisiana and Texas coast on Wednesday with a hurricane-like strength.

However, the Tropical Storm's trajectory is still not known. It is likely to hit the Beaumont, Texas area.

At least five people, with a 10-year-old girl, was killed as Tropical Storm Laura hit Haiti this weekend. Two were killed in the Dominican Republic.

Laura was located at the south of eastern tip of Cuba as of 2.pm. on Sunday, with maximum winds of 50 miles per hour.

Cities in South Texas were the first to found out how to deal with a hurricane during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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