By Mary Meaux
mary.meaux@panews.com

Calling for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people due to a hurricane is a decision that is not taken lightly by emergency management officials.

The decision is made through teamwork, close monitoring of the storm and with thought to the residents.

Jefferson County Emergency Management Official Greg Fountain said officials monitor the weather daily as storms come off the coast of Africa.

A formula of sorts exists for the timing of calling for evacuation. Officials know from past experience that it takes 32 to 36 hours to evacuate the county so they take that number and count backward to when tropical storm force winds would hit the area.

“At H (hurricane) minus 120 hours or five days we start statewide calls to see where the prospective impact will be; whether the lower or middle coast of it will threaten the upper coast,” Fountain said. “At H-72 (three days out) we have to really start getting things defined because it takes 32 to 36 hours to evacuate Jefferson County.”

He said officials try to start evacuations in the morning to give people time to get out instead of leaving at night. “In most cases we would not evacuate the entire area for a Category 1 storm when people can shelter in place,” he said. “Just because a tropical storm or hurricane is coming doesn’t mean evacuation is imminent.”

Low-lying areas such as Sabine Pass might get some tidal surge from a Category 1 storm or tropical storm and need to evacuate but as a standard rule, officials will not consider an evacuation until the storm is a Category 2.

When it becomes closer to possibly calling an evacuation of the tri-county area — Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties, the officials in those areas begin working together.

“We try to work closely with one another and keep the counties north of us in the loop because our people have to pass through,” he said of Newton, Sabine and Tyler counties. “But we do have our own conference call number and when it gets closer we have twice-a-day local or regional calls with cities and counties and with the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission (the area’s council of governments).

Fountain knows that when an evacuation is called there are many financial implications for the individual families as well as for business and industry.

“And when it comes to the elderly it is very stressful and we understand that but if we’re in the cone of uncertainty of where it will land and it takes 32 to 36 hours to evacuate, we can’t take the chance of not evacuating and have people die.”

Tropical Storm Harvey was something no one could have predicted. There was no jurisdiction other than in south Texas where Harvey came in as a Category 4 storm that had evacuation. By that time local officials learned the area would see historic amounts of rainfall between 8 p.m. and midnight on the night Harvey hit, then received an additional 15 inches of rain.

“Everything was already inundated and not passable,” he said of the once-in-a-1,000-year storm.”

 

Being prepared

In the past, officials would talk about having a supply of food and water on hand to last three to five days but Rita in 2005, Ike in 2008 and Harvey in 2017 taught some harsh lessons.

Fountain suggested having a two-week supply on hand because there is no guarantee supplies could get to you sooner.

“And we know people on medication have to wait on their doctor or insurance approval but if they can, make sure they have a minimum two-week supply during hurricane season at all times,” he said. “It is beneficial to them and to everybody else.”

Fountain also suggests for residents to check on their elderly neighbors who live near them that may not have a family member to check on them. Make sure they are registered with 211 or, if possible, take responsibility for their elderly loved ones or neighbors and bring them with them instead of having them ride a bus or stay in a shelter.

 

Have a plan in place

“In Rita, we had one of the largest civilian airlifts ever conducted. Either 8,500 or 8,700 had to be airlifted out of here,” he said. “We don’t want to be one of those people to rely on that again. Have a family plan in place.”

And in case of a disaster, federal and state resources may go elsewhere first.

“Our close proximity to Houston is the elephant in the room and they get a majority of the resources,” he added.

And, residents who ignore the call of an evacuation need to realize that if they are injured during a storm there may not be emergency personnel available to help and no way to get supplies in.

 

Important info

Check out:
Ready.gov — Information on preparation for many different types of disasters including hurricanes and flooding.

2-1-1 — 2-1-1 Texas is a program of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission that helps Texas citizens connect with the services they need. This includes persons who need assistance with evacuation.

Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management Facebook page — Helpful information about the county