HOUSTON -- Thousands were left without power Thursday while they cleaned up the destruction left behind after Hurricane Dolly roared through south Texas, KPRC Local 2 reported.

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At 4 p.m., Dolly weakened to a tropical depression and was located about 35 miles south of Eagle Pass, with maximum sustained winds at 35 mph. It was located at 28.2 north and 100.6 west, moving west-northwest near 14 mph.

Dolly is expected to dissipate on Friday.

"Dolly's done, but the clean up is just beginning," KPRC Local 2 chief meteorologist Frank Billingsley said. "It's going to continue to move through the mountains of Mexico. That's going to tear it up a lot, especially now that it's lost its water source. That's the key to all of this."

A tropical storm warning that had been issued from Brownsville to Port Aransas was dropped.

The winds were dying down, but the rain kept falling.

"Fifteen to 25 inches of rain from Doppler estimates just to the north of Brownsville and Cameron County," Billingsley said. "It was a very wet system."

Dolly made landfall near South Padre Island as a Category 2 hurricane at about 2 p.m. Wednesday. The powerful storm packed 100 mph winds, weakened fairly quickly and was downgraded to a tropical storm late Wednesday.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry surveyed Dolly's destruction by air on Thursday. He declared 14 counties disaster areas before Dolly made landfall.

Downed power lines remained the greatest danger, and officials urged people to stay home one more day "unless it's life or death." One person in Matamoros, Mexico, died after walking past a power line on the ground.

Residents picked up the pieces of their houses and businesses blown apart by the storm. But as dry skies spread over the region, they were struck by relief that the storm didn't take many lives.

Even so, there will be substantial cleanup: President Bush declared south Texas a disaster area to release federal funding to 15 counties, and insurance estimators put the losses at $750 million.

South Padre Island was hit hard by Dolly.

The entire island was left without power and there is no estimation as to when it will be restored.

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More Video:
Dolly's Remnants Dump Rain On SE Texas: Frank Billingsley Reports
Help Comes To Dolly Victims: Phil Archer Reports
South Texas Residents Pack Into Shelters: Phil Archer Reports

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Debris was everywhere -- numerous roofs were ripped off and windows were smashed. The roadways and yards were strewn with trees, fences, power poles and fallen streetlights.

A curfew was put in place to prevent looting. The causeway was reopened to allow residents who stayed on the island throughout the storm get to stores on the mainland for supplies.

Cleanup crews worked around the clock to make repairs, which are expected to take several weeks to complete. Bulldozers were brought in to clear large chunks of debris.

A 17-year-old boy fell from a seventh-floor apartment balcony, breaking his hip, fracturing a leg and injuring his head. However, he could not be transported off the island until about 5 p.m. Wednesday when the causeway linking the island to the mainland had reopened.

During the course of the storm, authorities rescued about 30 families from high water in Cameron County and power, including to the 911 emergency call system, remained out to about 60 percent of customers in Hidalgo County.

"The power grid is not doing too well," said Hidalgo County spokeswoman Cari Lambrecht.

Thousands of Cameron County residents packed into shelters. An estimated 2,500 people went to nine shelters in the county.

"I was scared because I have a mobile home," said Lorena Garcia, a resident of San Benito, Texas. "I was scared I would just float away in my house. So that's why I decided to come here (a shelter) with my family."

Approximately 160 people in San Benito were stranded in their homes by flooding and waited for National Guard troops to rescue them in trucks.

"You can't even see the street or anything. We can't even get our cars out," resident Ben Rios said. "We've been hungry for the past day and a half because we didn't prepare for it. I guess we're the suckers."

More than 100 CenterPoint Energy linemen from Houston went to the Corpus Christi area to help restore power. American Red Cross workers from Houston headed south on Wednesday with food, water and supplies.

The last hurricane to hit the U.S. was the fast-forming Humberto, which came ashore in southeast Texas last September.

The busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season is usually in August and September. So far this year, there have been four named storms, two of which became hurricanes. Federal forecasters predict a total of 12 to 16 named storms and six to nine hurricanes this season.

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