Tourists urged to avoid South Padre Island

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas, July 26 (UPI) -- For the first time in its history as a tourist hot spot, officials of Texas's South Padre Island Saturday turned away visitors in the wake of Hurricane Dolly.

Dan Quandt, executive director of the island's Convention and Visitors Bureau, was telling people to stay away after South Padre was rendered nearly uninhabitable by the storm's wind and rain, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

"So many people are calling saying they want to come to the beach, and we're saying, 'No,'" he told the newspaper. "This is not a time to sightsee down here. We are actually going to have law enforcement at the causeway saying if you don't have business being here, you're going to have to turn around."

Dolly's 100 mph winds socked the island this week, knocking out power and producing floodwaters that have made roads impassable. Gasoline was also hard to find and workers Saturday were struggling to move generators into the area, officials said.

The American Red Cross was teaming with non-profit groups and the National Guard to hand out food and water, the newspaper reported.