Photo: AP
Dennis Barrett paddles his kayak down a flooded Padre Boulevard as the early effects of Hurricane Alex are felt along the Texas coast in South Padre Island, Texas, 30 Jun 2010
The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Alex from a hurricane to a tropical storm after it came ashore and battered the Gulf coast of Mexico and Texas with high winds and rain.
Forecasters in Miami say Alex had sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour early Thursday, down from a high of 170 kilometers per hour Wednesday.
It is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later in the day as it moves farther inland across Mexico. The storm flooded coastal towns in Mexico and forced thousands to evacuate. It also spawned two tornadoes in Texas.
Though far from the leaking BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, Alex's strong winds and rains on Wednesday hampered cleanup efforts there.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said he expected improved conditions on Thursday could allow skimming to resume.
A spokesman for the oil spill response team said Wednesday the waters in the Gulf of Mexico were too rough for oil skimming and controlled burn operations.
Allen said rough waters delayed the installation of a third containment vessel that could more than double the quantity of oil collected daily. He said the vessel is now expected to be in place next week.
Officials are discussing the possibility of putting a new containment cap on the well that would allow it to be serviced by up to four containment vessels.
In Washington, lawmakers on a House subcommittee are considering a bill that would set strict new safety regulations for offshore drilling to ensure an accident like the current massive spill cannot happen again.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted Wednesday to remove a limit on liability, currently at $75 million, that oil companies can face for damages stemming from oil spills and other accidents.
President Barack Obama said Wednesday in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that the government has a responsibility to hold corporations accountable for such accidents. He strongly criticized a Republican lawmaker who apologized to BP after it came under White House pressure to establish a $20 billion victims' compensation fund.
The lawmaker, Representative Joe Barton, later apologized for that comment.
An April 20 explosion on a rig leased by BP killed 11 workers and caused the leak that has been pouring tens of thousands of barrels of crude each day into the Gulf.
Forecasters in Miami say Alex had sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour early Thursday, down from a high of 170 kilometers per hour Wednesday.
It is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later in the day as it moves farther inland across Mexico. The storm flooded coastal towns in Mexico and forced thousands to evacuate. It also spawned two tornadoes in Texas.
Though far from the leaking BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, Alex's strong winds and rains on Wednesday hampered cleanup efforts there.
Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said he expected improved conditions on Thursday could allow skimming to resume.
A spokesman for the oil spill response team said Wednesday the waters in the Gulf of Mexico were too rough for oil skimming and controlled burn operations.
Allen said rough waters delayed the installation of a third containment vessel that could more than double the quantity of oil collected daily. He said the vessel is now expected to be in place next week.
Officials are discussing the possibility of putting a new containment cap on the well that would allow it to be serviced by up to four containment vessels.
In Washington, lawmakers on a House subcommittee are considering a bill that would set strict new safety regulations for offshore drilling to ensure an accident like the current massive spill cannot happen again.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted Wednesday to remove a limit on liability, currently at $75 million, that oil companies can face for damages stemming from oil spills and other accidents.
President Barack Obama said Wednesday in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that the government has a responsibility to hold corporations accountable for such accidents. He strongly criticized a Republican lawmaker who apologized to BP after it came under White House pressure to establish a $20 billion victims' compensation fund.
The lawmaker, Representative Joe Barton, later apologized for that comment.
An April 20 explosion on a rig leased by BP killed 11 workers and caused the leak that has been pouring tens of thousands of barrels of crude each day into the Gulf.
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