State campaign urges hurricane readiness

By Chris Paschenko
The Daily News

Published July 9, 2010
GALVESTON — Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday began the annual “Ready or Not?” campaign to help residents prepare for hurricanes or other natural disasters.

Galveston was the department’s first destination on its 15-city July tour that also will include a stop in League City, Dr. David Lakey, the department’s commissioner, said.

Lakey outlined three steps of disaster preparedness — knowing how to contact relatives, collect emergency supplies and find shelter.

“Since 1965, Texas has seen more presidential disasters than any other state,” Lakey said. “We’ve had 83 disasters in 45 years. That’s 2½ times the national average. For residents of the Gulf coast, it’s not a matter of if but when a disaster will occur.”

Kurt Koopmann, spokesman for the Galveston County Health District, said the county saw people overcome by stressful situations in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Ike made landfall Sept. 13, 2008, causing widespread flooding and damaging much of the Upper Texas Coast.

“Hurricane Ike was more than an adequate reminder that we can’t let our guard down,” Koopmann said, noting there wasn’t a clean water supply.

“Having things like water and an emergency kit can be a life saver,” Koopmann said.

Hurricane season started June 1, and Hurricane Alex, the season’s first named storm, delayed the start of the department’s tour by a week, Lakey said.

“If you do it too early, people don’t take it seriously,” Lakey said of the tour. “If you do it too late, you don’t have time to prepare, and that’s why we do it in the Junish time period.”

Lakey reminded residents to have a plan of how to contact relatives before and after disasters. He also urged residents to make a list of and collect emergency supplies, such as nonperishable food, water, flashlights, medications and battery-operated radios.

The department has information tents with sample disaster supply kits and machines for people to photocopy important documents, which should be stored in waterproof containers.

“Alex was a good reminder of once a storm’s in the Gulf, it’s hard to get all the plans in place to be prepared,” Lakey said.

Earlier in the day in Texas City, planning also was the topic for discussion, but the focus was on planning on what to do to recover, especially if you are a small-business owner.

The joint presentation by Texas City’s Director of Homeland Security Bruce Clawson and La Marque Fire Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Todd Zacherl at the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce’s hurricane seminar for small businesses emphasized the need for communication plans between business owners and employees and a plan to open businesses sooner.

Clawson recounted how after the massive Hurricane Rita evacuation in 2005 and many people returned home to Texas City, the only place available to get food was a Burger King on Palmer Highway.

“Now they weren’t taking credit cards or giving change. It was just cash, and you weren’t getting (your hamburger) your way,” Clawson said. “But that was the only thing open.”

Clawson and Zacherl stressed small business operations, including fast-food restaurants and convenience stores, are just as important to the rebuilding and recovery process as having government response teams on the ground.

Zacherl noted businesses with multiple locations that include offices out of a high-risk flood or storm surge zone should be prepared to operate at one of the other facilities after a storm passes.

Clawson said business owners also should consider having to work out of their homes for a while.

Bottom line, Clawson said, any plan should include the plan to open up for business as quickly as possible after a storm’s threat has passed.

(News Media: For more information contact Kurt Koopmann, GCHD Public Information Officer, 409-938-2211 or kkoopman@gchd.org)