1. HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE Michael Walter Public Information Officer

2. 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)

3. Emergency Operations Center (EOC) EMEGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER

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

5. 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

6. Hurricane Evacuation - Zones

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. TW/IG: @HoustonOEM Youtube.com/HoustonOEM Facebook.com/houstonoem Nextdoor.com Twitter: @AlertHouston Youtube.com/AlertHouston Facebook.com/AlertHouston Nextdoor.com

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

14. Questions? Michael Walter Public Information Officer City of Houston Office of Emergency Management Michael.Walter@houstontx.gov 713.884.4554 Phone: 311 or 713-884-4500 Website: houstonoem.org Social Media @houstonoem facebook.com/houstonoem