Rain, road flooding as Tropical Storm Cristobal draws closer - The Decatur Daily

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Rain, road flooding as Tropical Storm Cristobal draws closer - The Decatur Daily Posted: 07 Jun 2020 08:47 AM PDT NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rain pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Cristobal, which has already spawned a tornado in Florida and threatened more twisters along with high winds and storm surge. Roads flooded in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi, and thousands were without power even before the storm made landfall. It was expected to arrive on U.S. soil late Sunday, though it was not expected to grow into a hurricane. Forecasters warned the storm would affect a wide area stretching roughly 180 miles (290 kilometers) east into Florida. But they forecast the worst impacts in southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi, where some spots could get up to 12 inches of rain and storm surges of up to five feet (1.5 meters). "It's very efficient, very tropical rainfall," National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said in a Facebook video. "It rains a whole bunch real quick." The storm could also generate tornadoes in parts of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. Rain fell intermittently in New Orleans famed French Quarter Sunday afternoon, but the streets were nearly deserted, with many businesses already boarded up due to the coronavirus. Daniel Priestman shopped for groceries, but said he didn't see people frantically stocking up as he did before other storms. He said people may be "overwhelmed" by the coronavirus and recent police violence and protests. They seemed "resigned to whatever happens - happens," he said. The Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans said the city's drainage system had limits and was old, so residents should avoid underpasses and low-lying areas where water can pool during inevitable street flooding. Templet plans to stay on the island during the storm and said he hasn't seen water levels this high since a 2012 hurricane. The Louisiana National Guard had dozens of high-water vehicles and rescue boats ready to go across south Louisiana. Three teams of engineers were also available to help assess potential infrastructure failures, the Guard said in a news release. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a pier was almost submerged by Sunday morning. Squalls with tropical-force winds had reached the mouth of the Mississippi River and conditions were expected to deteriorate, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Cristobal's maximum sustained winds remained at 50 mph (85 kph), and it was moving north at 5 mph (8 kph). On Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of New Orleans. But the storm already made its presence felt Saturday evening with a tornado that touched down near downtown Orlando, the National Weather Service said. The twister just missed a group of protesters at Lake Eola at around 7:30 p.m. There appeared to be no injuries, but tree limbs were knocked down, and there were reports of power outages. "Yes, it is related to the tropical storm that is well to our west," said Scott Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida. "But the tropical storm provided a lot of low level shear and that has allowed for some tornadoes to form over Central Florida." A tropical storm warning was posted for the northern Gulf of Mexico coast from Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to the Alabama-Florida border. Forecasters said the storm's center will move inland across Louisiana late Sunday through early Monday and then head north across Arkansas and Missouri on Monday afternoon and into Tuesday. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency to prepare for the storm's possible arrival. Jefferson Parish, a suburb of New Orleans, called for voluntary evacuations Saturday of Jean Lafitte, Lower Lafitte, Crown Point and Barataria because of the threat of storm surge, high tides and heavy rain. Residents were urged to move vehicles, boats and campers to higher ground. A similar order was issued for several Plaquemines Parish communities, including Happy Jack, Grand Bayou, Myrtle Grove, Lake Hertiage, Harlem and Monsecour. The parish's president, Kirk Lepine, said the order was issued as a precaution.

Sugar Land teens make app to help kids share storm stories - Houston Chronicle Posted: 07 Jun 2020 11:59 AM PDT Minutes after she heard her parents' phones screeching in the kitchen, Tracy Wei and the rest of her family scrambled to pack a weeks worth of clothing and important documents before cramming into a mini-van and leaving. It was late August 2017, and Hurricane Harvey threatened to spill over a levy that typically guarded their Sugar Land neighborhood from floodwaters. Wei's home was spared, but dozens of her Sartartia Middle School classmates weren't as lucky. Listening to their stories and pain, she knew she needed to help. "Just processing the hurricane and coming together as a community, it was hard," the now 15-year-old said. The one thing that was really powerful about Houston was that we really formed a community during Harvey. I wanted to help." In the weeks after Harvey, Wei and Raina Parikh, also 15, worked to develop an app to address students' mental health in the wake of natural disasters. It's called SAY: Stories About You, and it allows kids to share their experiences after storms, fires and floods. The goal, the girls say, is to let others know they're not alone in their struggles. Kids' pain is still evident, even nearly three years after Hurricane Harvey blew into the Houston area. Some students sob in their classrooms during storms, worried their homes and toys will flood again. Others jump when they hear a phone blast emergency signals, a sound that reminds them of the dozens of weather warnings that went out during the downpours. Still more have detailed plans in the back of their mind in case they need to make a quick escape to avoid rising waters. Bob Sanborn, president and CEO of the Children at Risk nonprofit, said adults tend to focus on physical well being after devastation rather than mental health. Texas, he noted, is 49th in the nation when it comes to state spending on mental health. "You hear so often that kids are resilient, and they are," Sanborn said. "But that doesn't mean they don't suffer trauma, and often they hide trauma even when it's still there." The app allows kids to pick from a list of disasters and zip codes, but most entries thus far are from Harvey. One wrote about evacuating to Austin, unsure what she and her family would return to. Another wrote about all the dead fish that lined his street once the water subsided. One, from the 77053 ZIP code, said they were stuck in their home without electricity for a week, worrying for survival as their food supplies began to dwindle. "I'm glad we're here breathing and alive," they wrote. With Tropical Storm Cristobal churning in the Gulf, both Wei and Parikh had worried there may soon be more entries. "It's still early in hurricane season, and we're all in an isolated environment," Parikh said. "This can allow children to share their stories therapeutic environment." shelby.webb@chron.com

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