It’s not a matter of if another hurricane will hit the Texas coast, it’s only a matter of when.
That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District held its’ second hurricane preparedness meeting of the 2023 hurricane season at the Jadwin Building, July 25, 2023 .
Dozens of people attended in person and dozens more via the web as District Division chiefs conducted a walk-through of a simulated hurricane.
Col. Rhett Blackmon, Galveston District Commander, discussed contingency operations in the event of a hurricane impacting the Texas coast.
The commander recognized the district’s Crisis Management Team, whose members with hurricane experience shared lessons learned with those new to the district.
The commander emphasized that it only takes one storm making landfall to qualify as a significant hurricane season.
“There could be 30 storms that all die out at sea or land relatively harmlessly. One bad storm can make it a bad season,” Blackmon said.
To date, there have been three named hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the last being Carlos which was most recently listed as a subtropical storm in the middle of the North Atlantic.
Alicia Rea, Galveston’s Director of Emergency Management and Security, led the meeting.
“If you’ve been to one natural disaster, you’ve been to one natural disaster,” Rea said, highlighting the fact that each hurricane is different and it is important to be as prepared as possible, no matter where landfall is made.
Rea identified the members of the Crisis Management Team who will act as the commander’s battle captains and lieutenants to respond to a hurricane.
The scenario of the exercise was scripted from the storm track of Hurricane Beulah. The storm started on the west coast of Africa, threaded between South America and the Leeward Islands, crossed the Yucatan Peninsula, and made landfall near Brownsville, Texas as a Category 3 hurricane Sept. 20, 1967.
Hurricane Beulah killed 59 people and caused $235 million of damage at the time. Prior to making landfall, Beulah was a Category 5. Severe rainfall had already saturated the ground and led to flooding. In the days following landfall, rain and flooding continued.
The exercise hurricane was named “Cody” and the scenario started 5 days out from landfall.
Each exercise day, section chiefs identified which actions they would take to protect and inform the public, protect USACE personnel and assets, and work with federal and nonfederal partners to prepare for the imminent natural disaster and restoration missions to follow.
The commander ended the exercise with a reminder to all attendees to prepare their households for a hurricane, so that when a disaster hits, they can rest assured their loved ones are safe while they conduct missions to help the people of the Texas coast.
With the most dangerous portion of hurricane season yet to come in August and September, it is crucial that everyone get ready and stay prepared, Blackmon said.
USACE employees should update all their contact information at the links below and familiarize themselves with the Emergency Management Dashboard.
Links & Resources:
EM Dashboard: https://arcportal-ucop-corps.usace.army.mil/s0portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=a6a0275bed954e12849fa8cabad71e68&page=home
ADPAAS: https://pki.adpaas.army.mil/
ALERT!: https://alert.csd.disa.mil/AlertSplashPage/SplashPage/DoDNoticeAndConsent
ENGLink Database: https://englink.appsplatformportals.us/
ENGLink Account Request: https://app-portal.usace.army.mil/esd/Items/Details?PackageId=14166