As Hurricane Ingrid -- which poses no threat to New Orleans -- slowly continued its approach toward Mexico on Sunday, Texas continued to take in dozens of Mexican fishing vessels seeking refuge ahead of the storm, according to theCoast Guard.
Fifty-three Mexican shrimping vessels from theTampico and Campeche fishing fleets were given safe harbor on Saturday and 32 more Mexican fishing vessels were being escorted to the Port of Brownsville on Sunday, the Coast Guard confirmed. The Coast Guard anticipated that, all together, about 250 Mexican fishing vessels might take refuge from Ingrid inBrownsville.
The Coast Guard on Sunday was sending aircraft to Brownsville to assess the port, according to Lt. Garrett Barker, a public affairs officer at Sector Corpus Christi in Texas. The Coast Guard was working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and the Brownsville Harbor Master to bring the Mexican vessels to the safe harbor.
"We have issued a small craft advisory for the Coastal Bend region and are advising mariners of the large swells and high tides along the South Padre Island and Boca Chica beaches," Barker said on Sunday. "Our primary concern and focus is on anyone who is not heeding these warning, as well as possible inland flooding due to large quantities of forecasted rain."
The National Hurricane Center on Saturday officially declared Ingrid the second hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. While northeastern Mexico will bear the brunt of Ingrid, south Texas is expected to receive up to 6 inches in localized areas -- such as near and to the south of the Rio Grande River -- over a short period of time, potentially leading to localized flash flooding.
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