Corpus Christi residents brace for Beryl, enjoy surf and sand

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Nueces County Judge Connie Scott had ordered all visitors to evacuate the county by noon Sunday.

This morning, our hotel told us they’d be closing their doors and preparing for the storm.

“They gave a notice that visitors, tourists, everyone from the outside cities and states, they should not be here,” said front desk manager Megan Koda.

She says she started contacting all the guests to let them know what was happening. Everyone began checking out while hotel staff laid sandbags and boarded up windows.

Hotel employees were anxious to get home as soon as they could.

“Sent us into a little panic, because I live further in town. So, driving out here, in the flooding, I wasn’t prepared for that.”

Jessica Cruz said she had to wait for a cooler to be delivered to keep food fresh during the shutdown.

“Just in case we lose power. Because out here on the island, we do lose power once the storms are coming in. It’s on backup generators that will be powering, just in case we lose power,” Cruz said.

While visitors were being told to evacuate, locals made their way to the seawall to watch the storm churn up the waters.

“It’s nature at its finest. Look at the waves and everything, it’s just so cool.”

Lifelong Corpus Christi resident Madlyn Cantu says she and her family have been waiting it out to see what develops.

She evacuated when Hurricane Harvey came through the area but doesn’t think this situation calls for it.

Some residents say they get why visitors are asked to evacuate but residents can stay.

“I wouldn’t want someone not familiar with our beaches to be two or three miles south, on the beach. Not knowing that it will come up to the dunes super easy and know you’re in big trouble,” said Corpus Christi resident Kent Meadows.

Far from being concerned about the approaching storm, some residents are taking the chance to have a good time with the situation.

Like Trey Camp who came out to surf the bigger waves.

“It’s Sunday man, nothing else better to do.”

Camp says he’s been surfing these waters for over 20 years. He says the latest information about the storm’s path made him decide against evacuating.

“As soon as we got that kind of northerly turn, we thought well, we’ll probably be on the clean side of the storm. and decided to hang out.”

Everybody we talked to at the sea wall said they think the storm won’t be much of an issue.

Even if Corpus Christi doesn’t get the storm head-on, they say they’re still taking precautions.

Trey Camp, the surfer, told us he got sandbags and boarded up his windows before hanging ten.

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