Tropical Storm Francine: Texas coast prepares for heavy rain, life-threatening winds

TEXAS - Texas is preparing for Tropical Storm Francine to possibly bring life-threatening winds and heavy rain to the coast. 

Governor Greg Abbott is warning CenterPoint Energy to be ready if power goes down, so there won’t be a repeat of what happened during Hurricane Beryl.

"CenterPoint knows that it is under a microscope," Governor Greg Abbott said.

The utility company was criticized after Hurricane Beryl left millions without power in July. Thousands didn’t have electricity for weeks and many residents were left in the dark about power restoration timelines. 

As Tropical Storm Francine is set to hit the coast, and could cause significant damage with high winds, flash flooding, possible tornadoes, and widespread power outages, Governor Abbott said this is CenterPoint Energy’s time to perform.

"There's the full expectation if there are power outages by CenterPoint, they will be corrected and be back on power within hours," Governor Abbott said.

A representative for CenterPoint Energy said they are ready.

"We have more than 2,000 front line workers and 600 veg workers already this week performing pre-storm activities. We have already identified an additional 5,000 workers that can come and help us in the event that we need them, as well as another 700 veg management workers," CenterPoint Director of Communications Alyssia Oshodi said.

There’s also a new outage tracker with data updating every five minutes.

State officials are encouraging residents to stay alert and finalize preparations with emergency kits, food, water, medication, and batteries.

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"Have a communication plan with your family, know where your family is and where they're going to be," Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said.

Francine is expected to be just offshore of the coasts of Northeastern Mexico, Southern Texas, and Louisiana.

"The predicted pathway of a storm like this doesn't always turn out to be true. As a result, we need to be prepared for the possibility that conditions could change, that could cause the storm to move a little bit further to the west with increased danger to parts of Texas," Governor Abbott said.

Governor Abbott said rescue teams have been deployed, water and food is stocked in affected areas, and the National Guard is on standby across the state.

"We have 24 state agencies here in the emergency operations center. All of their people are out in the field ready to support Texans," Chief Kidd said.

Several tropical storm warnings are in place for coastal counties. As the storm approaches, these may be upgraded to hurricane warnings. 

Authorities are urging residents to follow any evacuation orders if issued.