Texas Watches As Hurricane Dean Nears

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 00:15 a.m. EDT shows a big swirl of clouds in the eastern Caribbean Sea associated with intensifying Hurricane Dean. The storm has strengthened into a Category 4 storm and is expected to reach Category 5 status later Saturday. Winds hit 150 mph as it headed on a collision course with Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, where it is forecast to become a Category 5 storm. (AP Photo/NOAA) (AP)

President Bush signed a pre-landfall emergency disaster declaration for Texas, allowing federal equipment and supplies to be moved in now, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Gov. Rick Perry asked for the declaration late Saturday morning and Bush approved it at his ranch in Crawford.

State and local officials were holding conference calls twice a day to assess the storm's progress and further coordinate preparations.

Perry activated 4,750 military personnel and said up to 10,000 could be mobilized if the hurricane strikes Texas. Nearly 50 utility and cargo military helicopters were also activated as well as 250 special boat crews.

Perry said more than 1,000 buses and drivers were ready in San Antonio to transport special needs evacuees.

Road construction was suspended along interstates in southeast Texas on Saturday afternoon and Perry said fuel was being delivered to coastal area retailers.

"The state of Texas will be ready if Hurricane Dean makes landfall on our shores," Perry said.

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Associated Press Writer Becky Bohrer in New Orleans contributed to this report.