National Weather Service Lake Charles meteorologists Nick Slaughter, left, and Doug Cramer discuss weather. (Courtesy photo)

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The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is upon us and preparation is paramount for coastal areas such as ours. 

 

Hurricanes Rita, Ike and Harvey cost billions of dollars in damages that affected not only Port Arthur and surrounding areas but forced shutdowns of major petrochemical companies thus affecting the nation.

 

Jefferson County officials, city leaders, industry and more have been working with the National Weather Service and other agencies to be ready for hurricane season.

 

Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Robert Grimm explained some of what the County has done in preparation. 

“This month, we met with the National Weather Service  to discuss forecasts and preparations for the upcoming hurricane season. We are actively coordinating with local municipalities, ESDs (Emergency Services Districts), state agencies, and our volunteer organizations across the county,” Grimm said. “In addition, we are planning a full-scale exercise scheduled for June 11. This exercise will involve multiple stakeholders, including our road and bridge precincts, to ensure a coordinated and effective response in the event of a hurricane. These efforts are part of our ongoing commitment to readiness and community safety.”

Should a storm threaten the area it’s all hands on deck to coordinate the safe evacuation of the 253,000 plus residents of Jefferson County. During major threats other neighboring counties are also evacuated making for even more people on the road and stressing the need for coordination.

“When an evacuation is called, local officials coordinate with emergency management, law enforcement, and transportation agencies to notify the public through various channels, including media, emergency alerts, and social media,” he said.

During this time evacuation routes are activated and resources are positioned to assist those who need help evacuating. Traffic control measures are implemented to ensure safe and efficient movement out of the affected areas. The county works closely with state partners to support the process and monitor the situation as it evolves, he added.

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick has been at the helm through a number of disasters and understands the importance of preparation. He has learned that all systems need to be redundant.  

“Our pre disaster contracts need to have backup contracts in place in the event that the initial vendor is not in a position to supply the equipment or services we require for response and recovery. I have also learned that each city in the county needs to have redundant systems, particularly those required for taking phone calls from individual citizens in that city who have not evacuated,” Branick said. “We learned during Ike that we need to be more proactive about educating citizens about providing  for their pets needs. I’ve also learned that we need to be prepared for any scenario, whether it involves wind, rain, flood, storm surge, etc.”

 

The Atlantic Hurricane Season is from June 1 to Nov. 30.

 

Advice

“My advice to the citizens is that they be prepared by going to ready.gov, have a plan for their family for evacuation, have emergency supplies in place in the event they are unable to evacuate, make sure that they have adequate medications on hand and have taken care of their pets,” he said.