Along the Texas coast, people in Beryl’s path are boarding up and stocking up. In the coming hours, forecasters say the storm will restrengthen to a hurricane before making landfall.
“We're just prepared to help out any local agencies, anybody that reaches out to us,” said Denton County firefighter Andrew Crudgington.
Crudgington is currently stationed in South Texas with Texas Task Force 2 – Urban Search and Rescue.
With up to six feet of storm surge predicted in some places and wind speeds up to 90 miles per hour, Task Force 2 is prepared to assist with recovery efforts.
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“There's no greater calling than to help your fellow man in a time of need, in my opinion, so this is probably the most need that I can help in the situation that I'm in,” he said.
It’s a sentiment shared by first responders and civilians across the state.
Saturday, Flower Mound Fire deployed its Ambus south as a last-minute resource.
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North Texas’s Rancher Navy was also activated.
“We're trying to get the message out to get to safety much, much farther in advance than anybody else that may be needing to prepare for a hurricane just because the needs of livestock is so much different,” said Director Megan Broome.
Broome said volunteers from around the state are headed to the coast with trailers to evacuate livestock from flood-prone areas.
“Farmers and ranchers support each other, and so they are coming from pretty long distances,” she said.
The Rancher Navy encourages those who must evacuate without their animals to write information on the back of the animal that will allow volunteers to locate it by drones.
They also urge them to close all stalls and building doors to prevent animals from getting trapped in floodwater.
On Saturday, 81 counties were added to a disaster declaration, with many at risk for flash flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“We're most concerned about the heavy rainfall on Monday into Tuesday. This area here in red is sort of our highest risk area, level three out of four for the potential for flash flooding. But that does include places to the southeast of Dallas, Palestine, down to College Station and Bryan,” said Director Michael Brennan.
DFW and areas to the northeast are at a slightly lesser risk.
Saturday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said more than 2,000 responders and 850 assets stand ready for whatever comes.
