Texas leaders urge caution as Francine strengthens in the Gulf

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Tropical Storm Francine will spare most of Texas before making its projected landfall over Louisiana on Wednesday, but the Texas coastline will still feel its effects.

The storm has been quickly intensifying and is expected to become a hurricane on Tuesday. It could clip part of Texas' southeast corner, and the Texas coastline can expect storm surge and flash flooding.

"We plan for the worst and we hope for the best. It's really important that we don't let our guard down," the Texas Division of Emergency Management's Wes Rapaport said. "We need Texans to really pay attention and treat this with the utmost importance right now."

Texas has activated state emergency response resources, focusing on making sure local governments have the resources they may need. Rapaport said TDEM has coordinated with 39 state agencies involved in emergency response.

While the latest projections show minimal impact to Texas, Southeast Texans remain wary after Hurricane Beryl left millions without power for days this June. CenterPoint Energy, Southeast Texas' largest power provider, is taking proactive measures ahead of possible power outages. They say they have 700 vegetation management workers to reduce limb damage to power lines. They also have 5,000 additional frontline workers ready in case they need to mount another large-scale power restoration effort.

“While our weather experts work to determine the path, intensity and timing of the tropical activity, we remain vigilant and are fully focused on executing on our storm preparation plan, CenterPoint's Senior Vice President for Electric Business Darin Carroll said in a press release. We are in the process of mobilizing all of our available resources and mutual assistance resources from other utility companies so we will be prepared to safely and quickly restore power to our customers should this tropical system impact our area."

The state is urging personal preparedness as the storm strengthens and throughout hurricane season.

"It's super critical that Texans get that their preparedness measures into place," Rapaport said. "You know, the time is running out. "The clock's ticking a little bit. And so we want to make sure that as as that window narrows and as that storm moves through the Gulf, that we're able to make sure that Texans are doing what they need to be doing, just as the state is doing what we need to be doing."