The Goliad County Emergency Management department said an oil spill at the Port of Victoria caused a strong gas-like odor to spread across the Coastal Bend region on Thursday.
Officials from Ingleside to Rockport and Corpus Christi said they received a high volume of calls from residents about the smell.
In Goliad County, officials reported more than 30 calls of symptoms related to the odor.
"Although we feel like most of the county was unaffected, we had numerous calls for headaches, nausea, burning eyes, and even respiratory issues," said Sarah Ontiveros, coordinator for the Goliad County Emergency Management, in a letter posted to social media.
The smell came from a large oil spill in Victoria containing an unknown amount of crude oil, diesel, and hydrogen sulfide.
Victoria's Office of Emergency management confirmed the spill and said incident cleanup and response efforts were under the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Goliad County issued a temporary "shelter in place" on Thursday. Officials said it was not mandatory and was issued strictly as a precaution because of the amount of calls received.
An update from Goliad County on Friday morning said the TCEQ continued to work with Victoria and Calhoun counties to address the spill.
