Hurricane Dolly lashes Gulf Coast

Brownsville police officers clear debris from a store damaged by Hurricane Dolly’s winds.  (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

Janice Sanders of Corpus Christi is caught between sand dunes and the storm surge of Hurricane Dolly as she walks along the beach on South Padre Island, Texas.  (Todd Yates / EPA)

Evacuees from Hurricane Dolly line up for aid in a shelter in Matamoros, Mexico. Thousands of people have fled their homes in Mexico and the U.S. and gone to shelters as Hurricane Dolly batters the Gulf Coast with heavy rain and high winds.  (David de la Paz / EPA)

... Goodbye, sign. Among the early casualties of Hurricane Dolly were this hotel sign in South Padre Island and some apartment building roofs.  (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Police patrol the streets today as Hurricane Dolly bears down on South Padre Island, Texas.  (Jerry Lara / Associated Press)

Ren Garcia walks his dog, Buddy, through downtown Brownsville, Texas, as Hurricane Dolly approaches the Rio Grande Valley. Forecasters warned of up to 15 inches of rain that could produce flooding and breach levees in the heavily populated valley.  (Matt Slocum / Associated Press)

Senior hurricane specialist Lixion Avila types up the next public advisory for Hurricane Dolly today at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Hurricane Dolly’s leading edge blew down signs, damaged an apartment complex and knocked out electricity to thousands as it hit the Gulf Coast on either side of the Texas-Mexico border.  (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

Members of the Mexican Army patrol the streets of Matamoros hours before the arrival of Hurricane Dolly. In Mexico, fields were filling with water, palm trees were bent over in the wind and beaches were closed to the public.  (David de La Paz / EPA)

A sign lies against a store as Hurricane Dolly makes landfall in Matamoros, Mexico.  (Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

Mariella Ramirez, right, and Stephanie Gonzalez evacuate from Ramirez’s apartment after the roof collapsed as Hurricane Dolly makes landfall in South Padre Island, Texas.  (David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

Palm trees blow in the wind as Hurricane Dolly makes landfall in Matamoros, Mexico.  (Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)