The areas within the storm’s path that have issued mandatory evacuation orders include Port Arthur, Texas, which has the nation’s largest oil refinery, and Cameron Parish, La., just across the state
City and county officials in Texas have issued evacuation orders affecting hundreds of thousands of residents, particularly those living in low-lying areas. These orders, some of them voluntary, include parts of Orange, Jefferson and Chambers Counties, as well as Galveston, Texas, and the Texas A&M University campus in the city.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also mobilized more than 70 members of the Army and Air National Guards and the Texas State Guard to help local, state and federal officials with the storm response.
“Property and belongings can be restored, but lives cannot,” Mr. Abbott said in a statement on Monday. “I call on all Texans who may be in harm’s way to put their safety and their family’s lives above all else.”
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said in a statement that staff had begun evacuating several facilities on Monday. Prisoners and employees were transported with N-95 masks and personal protective equipment because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has already moved more than 1,300 inmates.
Cameron Parish, in southwestern Louisiana, issued a mandatory evacuation order effective at 1 p.m. Monday. Portions of Jefferson, Lafourche and Plaquemines Parishes have also ordered residents to evacuate.