Texas Governor Rick Perry expressed concern on Thursday that a recent wave of unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico is diverting resources away from the state’s disaster relief preparedness.

More than 47,000 unaccompanied children from Mexico and Central America have crossed the US border illegally since October 2013, almost double the number from the previous year, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

In response, the federal government has arranged facilities to temporarily house many of the children, including military bases in Oklahoma, California and Texas.

“This unaccompanied alien children issue has the potential to be an absolute catastrophe,” Perry said on Thursday at a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

He voiced particular concern about the amount of resources being devoted to housing the minors in Texas, especially as the height of hurricane season approaches.

“Were we to have a major event, I literally would not have places to house our citizens because of this influx from Mexico,” he said.

Perry’s comments came on the heels of an announcement on Wednesday that Texas would be sending additional law enforcement to the US-Mexico border.

The border surge, aimed at combating illegal immigration into the state, will cost approximately $1.3 million per week, according to a statement announcing the surge.