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Laura, on track to become a potential Cat. 3 hurricane
Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie issued a disaster declaration for the coastal city on Aug. 24, ahead of pending potential severe weather caused by tropical disturbances/storms/potential hurricanes Marco and Laura.
According to the disaster declaration issued at 10 a.m., city officials anticipate “the imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury or loss of life or property and other public calamity” resulting from the two storms on track to the Gulf of Mexico coastline.
Mayor Bartie, the disaster declaration reads, “has determined that extraordinary measures must be taken to prevent and to alleviate the suffering of people and to protect or rehabilitate property.”
A disaster declaration for Port Arthur, as recited in the city’s proclamation, enacts the Emergency Management Plan.
Aug. 22, the mayor had called for a voluntary evacuation of some of the municipality's most vulnerable locations.
"Due to concerns related to the close proximity of Tropical Storm Laura and Tropical Storm Marco to the City of Port Arthur, I, Mayor Thurman Bartie, hereby issue a request for a voluntary evacuation to begin for the areas of Sabine Pass and Pleasure Island. This request is being made due to the impending threat each Tropical Storm poses to the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast region and the geographic location of the City of Port Arthur.
"The areas that are being asked to voluntarily evacuate are situated in the most southern areas within the City of Port Arthur. They have been targeted because of their lower elevations and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico. It is advisable for these voluntary evacuations to begin now, while travel to northern points may be reached without added weather related obstacles."