Texas Prepares for Hurricane Season!
Howdy! I’m Nim Kidd, Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) at the Texas Department of Public Safety. I want to thank Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott for inviting me to be a guest on her blog. And today, I’d like to discuss something very important – with the potential to affect millions of Texans: hurricane preparedness. Hurricane season officially began on June 1 and will last until November 30. Packed with the potential for powerful storm surge, high winds, tornadoes and flooding, a hurricane can devastate coastal areas as well as severely impact vast areas hundreds of miles inland. This means that while Texas coastal communities face the greatest threat from hurricane events, inland communities will also be impacted. Although it has been several years since a hurricane made landfall in Texas, Hurricane Ike, which devastated parts of our state in 2008, reminds us that it only takes one storm to cause catastrophic destruction and damage. Ike caused billions of dollars in damages, and took the lives of dozens of Texans.
This hurricane season, the Governor, First Lady and TDEM are urging all Texans to be prepared by taking some simple but potentially life-saving steps. Ask yourself, do you have an emergency supplies kit? Do you know the best evacuation routes out of your area? Have you considered the needs of all your family members if a storm hits, including children, seniors, individuals with access and functional needs, and pets? There are many resources available to help you answer these questions, including:
Hurricane safety tips from the National Weather Service
Hurricane evacuation routes from the Texas Department of Transportation
Hurricane awareness information from the Texas Division of Emergency Management
Emergency supplies kit tips from the Texas Division of Emergency Management
Do you, or does someone you know, require additional assistance (such as transportation assistance in the event of an evacuation) during an emergency event? Consider signing up for the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR). STEAR is a program that provides local emergency planners and emergency responders with additional information on the needs in your community. For more information about the STEAR program visit https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/stear/public.htm.
Also, always remember to have a trusted source of information you can follow if a storm occurs. Some potential trusted sources of information include weather radios, your local national weather service office’s Facebook or Twitter page, or follow TDEM at @TDEM.
Remember #ItOnlyTakesOne. So let’s make sure that every Texan is ready!