Local leaders gather to coordinate hurricane preparedness plan

HOUSTON – When talking about hurricane preparedness and recovery, there are so many moving parts.

 

Everybody needs to have the same information and everything has to be coordinated down to the last detail.

That's why a plan of action for the Greater Houston area has been triggered well before gale-force winds hit the coastline, about 5 1/2 days out.

Nearly eight years after Hurricane Ike made landfall, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett made an admission Monday: "I learned today that we are still not doing as good of a job as we can of getting certain information out.”

While local elected leaders from across the region say they're prepared, they found room for improvement in one particular area of concern: fuel availability.

While the state has a much better defined plan, around 1 million people have moved into our region since Ike. Most have not gone through an evacuation. If citizens are forced to leave their homes, supplies will be exceptionally critical, along with how information is conveyed to the public.

“I would like to see something out there where there’s social media sites, apps, where people can get information so they know what stations are open, how long they’ll be open and what their fuel supplies are,” Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta said.

Communication, evacuation management, power restoration and recovery received high marks from the contingency of local elected leaders and emergency management coordinators at Monday's 2016 hurricane season briefing.

As far as local governments go, they all say they are ready.

“The individual needs to be prepared. Keep your cars full of gas. If you have medical needs, make sure you have the medications that are required for those individuals,” Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyle said.


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