With 20,000 vacationers waiting at sea on cruise ships and beach parks shuttered for the weekend, Galveston is hunkering down for the storm.
But city officials were confident Friday that the island is ready for Hurricane Harvey's wrath, even as the National Weather Service announced a tornado warning Friday afternoon for Galveston, Texas City and La Marque.
"We have a lot of experience in dealing with these issues," Mayor James Yarbrough told reporters Friday. "Galveston's official position is we are prepared. We're not panicking."
But for the thousands of passengers stuck at sea on four cruise ships set to dock over the weekend - three Carnival cruises and one Royal Caribbean boat - the incoming storm could throw a wrench in the week's plans. With the port shut down to ship traffic, cruise-goers are forced to wait offshore - possibly all the way until Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Roger Quiroga, the Port of Galveston's external affairs director.
The city issued a voluntary evacuation Thursday for the west end of the island in anticipation of flooding and possible utility outages. But Friday the mayor cautioned residents against trying to leave town too late.
"Evacuation won't be much an option after 5:30 to 6 this afternoon," he said. "The old adage, hunker from wind, run from water is still the gospel and we're at the point where we're going to hunker down."
But there's lots of water in store, too, with some 15 to 20 inches predicted to pound the island over the course of the storm.
"We're on the side that has more tornado potential," Yarbrough cautioned.
"I'm not sure I even need to say this but we expect strong rip currents so it's not advisable to go swimming or surfing."
Although Hurricane Harvey is not expected to hit Galveston head-on, the storm-battered island has learned some lessons about disaster survival in the wake of 2008's devastating Category 2 Hurricane Ike.
"A lot of our infrastructure - water systems, delivery systems, wastewater pump stations, sewer systems - most of those have been upgraded," Yarbrough said. Not all of the upgrades are complete, but those that are should be able to handle Category 5 conditions, he added.
City officials plan to erect barricades in low-lying areas of downtown, and there are shelter plans ready to go if necessary, the mayor said.
"There has been no panic," Yarbrough said. "I wish everyone could see the internal mechanics of what people are doing."
But if the storm heads back out to sea before regaining steam and hitting Galveston, the island could be in for some trouble. If that happens, "there here won't be time or capacity for any evacuation," the mayor said.
In anticipation of the bad weather, Galveston ISD has called off classes through Wednesday. Galveston College cancelled registration Friday and Saturday and cancelled the first day of classes Monday.
The local hospital and emergency rooms are still open, according to University of Texas Medical Branch spokesman Kurt Koopmann.
"We are not the same campus we were when Ike hit, there's been over a billion dollars of improvements done to our campus," Koopmann said. "We feel like we're in good shape today."
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Galveston Park Board shut down public beach parks as a precaution. That includes the Seawolf Park, East Beach, Stewart Beach, Dellanera RV Park and West End Pocket Parks.
The impending storm has also sparked a series of weekend event cancellations, including the ArtWalk on Saturday, the Dixie's Tupperware Party and the Sunday night Stay and Play fireworks. The Galveston Island Visitor Information Center at Ashton Villa will be closed Saturday through Monday, and the Galveston Historical Foundation will be closed for the weekend.
But despite the havoc expected over the weekend, city officials were confident the island would be back to normal in time for a booming holiday weekend.
"We're looking forward to a wonderful Labor Day weekend," said Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Meg Winchester. "Hotels are business as usual right now."
But city officials were confident Friday that the island is ready for Hurricane Harvey's wrath, even as the National Weather Service announced a tornado warning Friday afternoon for Galveston, Texas City and La Marque.
"We have a lot of experience in dealing with these issues," Mayor James Yarbrough told reporters Friday. "Galveston's official position is we are prepared. We're not panicking."
But for the thousands of passengers stuck at sea on four cruise ships set to dock over the weekend - three Carnival cruises and one Royal Caribbean boat - the incoming storm could throw a wrench in the week's plans. With the port shut down to ship traffic, cruise-goers are forced to wait offshore - possibly all the way until Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Roger Quiroga, the Port of Galveston's external affairs director.
The city issued a voluntary evacuation Thursday for the west end of the island in anticipation of flooding and possible utility outages. But Friday the mayor cautioned residents against trying to leave town too late.
"Evacuation won't be much an option after 5:30 to 6 this afternoon," he said. "The old adage, hunker from wind, run from water is still the gospel and we're at the point where we're going to hunker down."
But there's lots of water in store, too, with some 15 to 20 inches predicted to pound the island over the course of the storm.
"We're on the side that has more tornado potential," Yarbrough cautioned.
"I'm not sure I even need to say this but we expect strong rip currents so it's not advisable to go swimming or surfing."
Although Hurricane Harvey is not expected to hit Galveston head-on, the storm-battered island has learned some lessons about disaster survival in the wake of 2008's devastating Category 2 Hurricane Ike.
"A lot of our infrastructure - water systems, delivery systems, wastewater pump stations, sewer systems - most of those have been upgraded," Yarbrough said. Not all of the upgrades are complete, but those that are should be able to handle Category 5 conditions, he added.
City officials plan to erect barricades in low-lying areas of downtown, and there are shelter plans ready to go if necessary, the mayor said.
"There has been no panic," Yarbrough said. "I wish everyone could see the internal mechanics of what people are doing."
But if the storm heads back out to sea before regaining steam and hitting Galveston, the island could be in for some trouble. If that happens, "there here won't be time or capacity for any evacuation," the mayor said.
In anticipation of the bad weather, Galveston ISD has called off classes through Wednesday. Galveston College cancelled registration Friday and Saturday and cancelled the first day of classes Monday.
The local hospital and emergency rooms are still open, according to University of Texas Medical Branch spokesman Kurt Koopmann.
"We are not the same campus we were when Ike hit, there's been over a billion dollars of improvements done to our campus," Koopmann said. "We feel like we're in good shape today."
As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Galveston Park Board shut down public beach parks as a precaution. That includes the Seawolf Park, East Beach, Stewart Beach, Dellanera RV Park and West End Pocket Parks.
The impending storm has also sparked a series of weekend event cancellations, including the ArtWalk on Saturday, the Dixie's Tupperware Party and the Sunday night Stay and Play fireworks. The Galveston Island Visitor Information Center at Ashton Villa will be closed Saturday through Monday, and the Galveston Historical Foundation will be closed for the weekend.
But despite the havoc expected over the weekend, city officials were confident the island would be back to normal in time for a booming holiday weekend.
"We're looking forward to a wonderful Labor Day weekend," said Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Meg Winchester. "Hotels are business as usual right now."
