South Texas begins cleanup after Hurricane Dolly

HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) - People in South Texas are thankful Hurricane Dolly didn't pack the wallop many feared it would.

The region has begun to clean up the mess left behind by the storm. People have been slogging through knee-deep muddy waters to pick up pieces of their houses and businesses blown apart by Dolly's winds.

President Bush has declared 15 Texas counties a disaster area.

Insurance estimators are putting losses from the storm at $750 million. And wind and rain from Dolly has likely doomed much of the cotton crop in the Rio Grande Valley.

Forecasters look for storm's remnants to be completely gone today, but Texas Governor Rick Perry has pointed to the possibility of more flooding. He says the "event is not over by any sense of the imagination."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.