BEAUMONT, Texas — Coast Guard authorities say their crews are continuing rescue efforts in the Beaumont area as rain and flooding cover the region.
As a result of the rainfall brought by Tropical Depression Imelda, Coast Guard shallow-water response teams from Baton Rouge rescued 21 people and five pets from Orange County, Texas.
Elsewhere, Coast Guard aircrews from Air Station Houston and Air Station New Orleans airlifted or rescued nine people, taking them to emergency personnel ready to take care of them. Emergency operation centers have been established in Jefferson, Harris, Orange, Liberty and Chambers Counties along with others in Houston, Beaumont, and Austin.
"Ahead of the storm we began prepositioning our response crews in the Beaumont area," said Capt. Kevin Oditt, Sector Houston-Galveston commanding officer. "And we continue to coordinate with state, county and city emergency operations center and local first responders to assist where needed."
The Coast Guard is urging anyone in distress to call 911 for help rather than posting online.
"Social media should not be used to report life-threatening distress due to limited resources to monitor the dozens of social media platforms during a large-scale rescue event," the Coast Guard said in a recently-issued statement.
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