MIAMI, (AFP) - Authorities issued warnings in Texas and northeastern Mexico as Alex strengthened into a hurricane — the first of the 2010 Atlantic season — late Tuesday in the oil-stained Gulf of Mexico.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said "additional strengthening is forecast prior to landfall," expected Wednesday night near the US-Mexico border, separating Texas and Tamaulipas states.
The Category One hurricane was tracking westward at 15 kilometers (nine miles) per hour and not forecast to turn towards the massive BP oil spill along the US Gulf Coast, but its severe winds were churning up waves that brought a halt to clean up operations and threatened to push more of the huge slick onto the coastline.
Just before 0300 GMT Wednesday, the center of the storm was located about 415 kilometers southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and 315 kilometers east of the Mexican coastal town of La Pesca.
Mexico ordered authorities on emergency alert in Tamaulipas state after one woman died when a wall of her home collapsed in the southern state of Oaxaca during driving rain caused by the storm system, officials said.
US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Texas and ordered federal aid to bolster the local response efforts Alex drew near.
Obama’s move was a green light for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts, a White House statement said.
Texas Governor Rick Perry issued his own state disaster proclamation for 19 counties, allowing Texas to launch preparations such as pre-deploying resources to ensure local communities are ready to respond to the hurricane.
Alex appeared to be well southwest of the area worst hit by the massive BP oil spill — the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — though its strong winds were causing problems for the cleanup effort.
The storm forced suspension of oil skimming operations as visiting Vice President Joe Biden heard complaints about the pace of cleanup efforts in the disaster zone.
The winds could also whip up waves large enough to prevent crews from attaching a third containment vessel to a riser pipe suctioning oil from a containment cap some 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below the surface.
An estimated 1.6 million to 3.6 million barrels of oil — or 67 million to 153 million gallons — have poured into the Gulf since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers.
The NHC said the storm could cause dangerous floods and was set to drench parts of northeastern Mexico and southern Texas with rain accumulations of 6-12 inches (15-30 centimeters), with isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches (51 centimeters).
"These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," the NHC warned.
In addition to being the first hurricane of the season, Alex was also the first June Atlantic hurricane since 1995, according to the NHC.
FEMA, an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, urged Americans to closely monitor the storm and be as prepared as possible.
"The most important thing for people living in the area to do right now is to ensure their family is prepared and to follow the instructions of state and local officials," said FEMA chief Craig Fugate.
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