It has been raining like crazy here. Roads are flooded everywhere. People are stranded. Several tornadoes have hit. We are all frightened. The lightening during the storms yesterday were very, very loud -- it hurt my ears! There has been one death caused by one of the tornadoes. It is expected to rain all day today and again all day tomorrow. This area has already been proclaimed a disaster area. Please pray for our city at this time, that we all make it through safe and live to see tomorrow.
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Cars flip, roads flood; more rain expected
By J.R. Gonzales Caller-Times
October 25, 2002
The first killer tornado in more than 30 years cut a path from the city's southwest edge to Refinery Row on Thursday. One man died, at least 14 people were injured, cars were upended, drivers made harrowing escapes from their vehicles in rising floodwaters and children were stranded at school for two hours.
Rain came down in sheets so heavy Thursday afternoon that drivers pulled over, or found themselves stranded in high water after only a matter of minutes. Rainfall totals of 6 and 7 inches were reported in some areas.
And more is expected today. A 70 percent chance of showers is expected for today and tonight, a 70 percent chance is expected Saturday and a 60 percent chance is expected Saturday night.
Schools in the Corpus Christi and Tuloso-Midway independent school districts will be closed today because of the threat of weather and the damage done Thursday, including power outages, school officials said.
The tornado ripped Del Mar College's West Campus, killing James R. Gillis, an adjunct instructor of math and industrial education. Six other people were injured at Del Mar West, where portable buildings came crashing down.
Corpus Christi firefighters responded to 165 tornado-related calls by 8:30 p.m. The city's emergency lines were so overloaded that the city issued an appeal late in the afternoon not to call 911 to report flooded cars, branches down, or other weather incidents that were less-than life-threatening.
The police department stationed 50 officers through the night in the areas from Del Mar West to the main post office on Nueces Bay Boulevard - the areas most severely affected by the tornado. Firefighters finished their search of the area for additional victims by 9 p.m.
Fourteen-year-old Lorissa Chapa was at her home near Driscoll Middle School when the twister hit. She didn't have to open the door of her home to see what was causing the loud noise outside.
The tornado did that for her.
"I saw it spinning right in front of me," she said.
Her father, Robert Chapa, said the two ran inside a closet as the tornado passed overhead.
"All my trees are down," he said. "Everything came out of the ground."
By 5 p.m. Thursday, his home was one of 13,000 Central Power and Light customers without electricity.
Tornado's path
From there, the tornado moved northeast through the H-E-B store at 3500 Leopard St. and slammed the Hector P. Garcia Post Office nearby.
The storm blew out car windows near the post office, said Bert Quintanilla, chief of staff for state Rep. Jaime Capelo, who was dropping off mail.
The electricity went out and people started screaming, he said. He could see that a portion of the roof was missing.
"There was a bright light, above the roof, that I could see," Quintanilla said.
He ran for his car, when he noticed that its windows were blown out. A woman parked in front of him, who was in her car when the tornado hit, was covered in glass and blood, he said.
Alice City Councilman Larry Martinez, a postal worker at the main post office, was there when the tornado struck.
"I heard a big rumble and the building started to shake," Martinez said. "Rocks and trees were flying everywhere."
Afterward, Martinez said, everyone seemed relieved and began walking around to make sure no one was injured.
Because of some reports of looting at the H-E-B, Police Chief Pete Alvarez said there would be some extra police patrols. By late afternoon, there were no arrests attributed to looting. Construction workers stayed at the site overnight, performing repairs.
Rescued motorists
Rising storm water left motorists on roadways from downtown to the airport area stranded and crying out for help.
Sheriff's deputies rescued an Angleton woman, her mother and 1-month-old baby from a vehicle at about 3:30 p.m. after the woman had driven into high water near Lipan and North Carrizo streets.
"I was driving along and all of a sudden I hit water," said a shaken Ashley Lauer.
Some deputies at the Nueces County Courthouse ran out into the street and took the three to a nearby office on higher ground. In all, about six cars had water past their bumpers and more than a dozen cars were flooded in nearby parking lots near the courthouse.
Some streets bordering the courthouse had deep pools of water, and about 3 to 4 inches of water seeped into the courthouse's first floor.
Bruce Freeland, who was driving from the Calallen area recalled the skies turning dark and motorists turning on their hazard lights while driving down Interstate 37.
"It just blew in," Freeland said.
Big rigs overturned
He said there were 18-wheelers knocked over alongside the road and vehicles were pulled over on the side of the road as the dark clouds moved in.
Everyone at the Corpus Christi International Airport was ordered to the center of the terminal to shelter in place until the tornado passed. About a hundred people crowded into the long corridor with their suitcases, and about a dozen whipped out cell phones to call loved ones.
Kathy Voelske was preparing to board a plane to Milwaukee, Wis., when officials stopped anyone from going through the security checkpoint to the planes.
"I didn't really want to go to Milwaukee anyway," she said. "This will be a good way to get out of it."
Airport Director Dave Hamrick said the airport escaped any damage.
"We missed the bullet on this one," he said.
Aside from the twister that touched down, there were some unconfirmed reports of at least two more tornadoes in the area between 2 and 4 p.m.
Confirmed or not, some people in Calallen were certain.
Warning from customer
"It came out of nowhere," said Mary Smith, a Burger King breakfast manager who was working during the storm. She moved 10 to 15 customers into the back of the dining area after lights began to flicker.
She said customers in the drive-through warned employees that a tornado was coming their way. It bent the restaurant's drive-through sign and severely bent a Chevron sign above the parking lot.
Access Ford salesmen and mechanics saw a funnel cloud form at about 12:30 p.m. in a field near the dealership at 3680 U.S. Highway 77.
Tino Quintania, a porter at Access Ford, was watching the skies after lunch when a small funnel cloud suddenly appeared.
"It just covered the power lines and, Boom! The power went out," Quintania said. "The tornado blew out a transformer box. We saw a little fire when it hit the box. Then it went behind the Burger King up the road."
Roughly two hours after the storm passed through Corpus Christi, Mayor Loyd Neal forwarded a local disaster declaration to County Judge Richard Borchard.
"I've declared it," Borchard said. "I'll be submitting it to the governor as soon as possible."
He has had practice. Flooding in July and September prompted two previous declarations. Borchard said this was the first time he could recall the county being declared a disaster area three times in one year.
The American Red Cross set up a shelter at Ben Garza Gym, 1815 Howard St., for residents displaced by the storm.
And area hospitals were expecting many more patients than showed up. There were reports that 70 people would be brought in for emergency care, but that didn't happen, according to Corpus Christi Medical Center spokeswoman Lorette Winters.
More than a dozen were treated for weather-related injuries at area hospitals.
High winds ripped the sheeting off a storage tank at the Flint Hills Resources refinery near Interstate 37 and Nueces Bay Boulevard. No one was injured and the tank was empty, said company spokesman Rich Tuttle.
Both Citgo refineries were shut down when the east plant lost power, said Chuck Cazalas, company spokesman.
For 14-year-old Lorissa Chapa, this was the first time she had seen a tornado.
"Never thought I would," she said. "Especially in Corpus Christi."
Staff writers Quincy C. Collins, Neal Falgoust, Jaime Powell, Venessa Santos-Garza, Naomi Snyder and Joy Victory _contributed to this report. Contact J.R. Gonzales at 886-3779 or
gonzalesj@caller.com
book1book1
http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_new...502096,00.html
I'm just glad school is cancelled for tomorrow since I have an experimental statistics test that was gonna kick my butt!!!
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