BEAUMONT, Texas — Acting Governor Dan Patrick urged Texans to make final preparations, and announced that he has added 81 counties to the state’s Beryl Disaster Declaration Saturday evening, as storm forecasts have shifted the expected landfall north and east of previous projections.
Among the counties mentioned are several Southeast Texas counties including:
- Hardin
- Jasper
- Jefferson
- Liberty
- Newton
- Orange
- Tyler
According to the governors office, this brings the total number of Texas counties included in the state’s disaster declaration to 121 counties.
“As Hurricane Beryl approaches the Gulf Coast, today and tomorrow will be the last 2 days for Texans to make preparations for the coming storm. Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it makes its way across the state for the following 24 hours," Patrick said in a statement.
The 81 total Texas counties added include Anderson, Angelina, Austin, Bastrop, Bell, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Collin, Colorado, Comal, Dallas, Delta, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Galveston, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Jefferson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Madison, Marion, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Walker, Waller, Washington, Williamson, and Wood counties.
The governors office says that more counties could still be added later.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.