HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Michael Walter Public Information Officer

Who is OEM? Emergency Management Responding Agencies City Leadership Strategic Coordination Operational Mayor Sylvester Turner Emergency Management Director Office of Homeland Security & Public Safety Office of Emergency Management Houston Emergency Center (911)

Emergency Operations Center (EOC) EMEGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER

Hurricane Response & Recovery Plan Organizes the City’s response in three periods: – Pre-Landfall – Landfall – Post-Landfall

Hurricane Evacuation Evacuation Decision – Coordinated process with local jurisdictions and the State of Texas. – Decision rests with the local elected executive (Mayor or County Judge) – Based on H- Hours (Tropical Storm Force Winds impacting Texas Gulf Coast) – Coastal Counties Evacuate First – Called by Zip Zones

Hurricane Evacuation - Zones

Evacuation Information City of Houston: houstontx.gov/emergency Unincorp. Harris: readyharris.org Entire Houston region: houstonhidefromthewind.com

Hurricane Evacuation Contraflow – Two Points: Brookshire (I- 10), Huntsville (I-45), and FM1960 (US-290) – Activated by TxDOT – Takes 4 hours to fully implement (on I-10) – Resource intensive locally and at the State level. Evaculanes – Formalized after Hurricane Rita to allow for added traffic lane during evacuation – First action taken to increase vehicle flow count

Hurricane Evacuation Assisted Evacuation – Local Jurisdictions establish “Hubs” – City of Houston/Harris County at George R. Brown – Registrants in STEAR (211 or texasstear.org) receive phone call to arrange for transportation. – Hub transports to reception centers in Dallas and San Antonio

Planning Considerations Know Your Employees’ Zones. If you expect them to be available to work – how will you provide for them and their families? Do you have a tiered personnel system, and has it been effectively communicated to staff? Houston/Harris County is not a sheltering jurisdiction – all individuals will be passed via evacuation programs to neighboring metro areas.

Resources houstontx.gov/emergency Sign up for Emergency Alerts Stay on top of emergencies in Houston houstonstormrisk.org Maps individual risk based on community Good for use ahead of a storm

Youtube.com/HoustonOEM Facebook.com/houstonoem Nextdoor.com Youtube.com/AlertHouston Facebook.com/AlertHouston Nextdoor.com

Get Prepared Disaster Preparedness Guide Call 311 or go to houstonoem.org Regional Disaster Preparedness

Questions? Michael Walter Public Information Officer City of Houston Office of Emergency Management Phone: 311 or Website: houstonoem.org Social facebook.com/houstonoem