< PreviousMindfulness breathing/meditation: (Meditation App available on Iphone and Android phones) Listening to music Avoid drinking and drug use Give your devices a break Need someone to talk to about cumulative stress? The Gulf Coast Center is here to help. For free, confidential, and compassionate support, call us today. Call our COVID-19 Support Line: 1-800-643-0967 Choose Option 8 Limit exposure to the news Lean on your support circle of friends and family Maintaining a routine Get enough sleep, eat a balanced meal 20 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2021The UFCU Insurance Services ® team is committed to helping you find just the right insurance company and policy for you. UFCU Has You Covered UFCU.org Prepare and protect what matters to you most before a hurricane strikes. Our experienced situation, guide you through the process, and provide exclusive coverage for coastal residents. 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This resource will give residents access to important information in a timely and accurate fashion through phone calls, text messages, email and a user-friendly app. • The main number for the police department is 281-337-4700. FRIENDSWOOD • The city will communicate through multiple sources if a mandatory or voluntary evacuation is issued. Friendswood residents should register for Friendswood notification system so that they can receive phone calls, text messages and emails from the city at www.ci.friendswood.tx.us/cns. • The city will inform residents when it is safe to return to the city. Stay tuned to local media, city social media accounts and register for emergency notifications and city newsletters. • The city’s main number is 281-996-3200, and the Office of Emergency Management is 281-996-3335. GALVESTON • Galveston residents who will need a ride or do not have their own transportation during a hurricane evacuation can call 409-797- 3701 to register for the city’s evacuation transportation program. • Residents can sign up for city of Galveston’s emergency notification system online by visiting www.cityofgalveston. org/196/Emergency-Notification-System. The city’s emergency management department also posts updates on Twitter at @GalvestonOEM or on Facebook at Facebook.com/GalvestonOEM. KEMAH • Kemah residents must register at www.kemahtx.gov to set up preferences for notifications. In the case of a hurricane, alerts would be provided via home phone, cell, text message or email. This is the city’s primary direct communication tool but requires residents to register. • To contact a staff member of the Kemah Emergency Management, contact Police Chief Walter Gant at 281-334-5414 or Fire Chief Robert Suniga at 281-538-5727. LA MARQUE • For general, nonemergency, emergency management questions, residents may call 409-938-9225. During an emergency, the city prefers that residents utilize the city’s website, www. cityoflamarque.org, as it will be updated on a regular basis and Channel 16 also will provide residents with the critical information needed during emergency situations. • Visit https://lamarqueconnect.bbcportal.com to sign up for emergency phone notifications. LEAGUE CITY • League City residents can register with the city’s mass notification system to receive alerts if a storm impacts the area by visiting www.leaguecity.com. • The city’s website, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and Channel 16 also will provide residents with the critical information needed during emergency situations. • City officials encourage residents who would need evacuation assistance during a hurricane to call 211 and register with the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry program early. • League City’s nonemergency number for the League City Office of Emergency Management is 281-554-1300. • Additional information is available at www.readylc.com. SANTA FE • Residents may sign up to receive phone notifications via Alert Santa Fe by visiting www.santafenm.gov/alertsantafe or by calling 409-925-6412. The city uses the notification system to update people about road closures, community events and storm and weather updates. TEXAS CITY • Residents can sign up to receive emergency notifications through the city’s website, www.texas-city-tx.org or by calling 409-948-3111. • Buses transporting people between the county and the shelter do pickups in Texas City. Residents can call 409-948- 3111 to learn where the buses will arrive. UNINCORPORATED GALVESTON COUNTY • For information on hurricane preparedness in all unincorporated areas in the county, contact Galveston County Emergency Management at www.gcoem.org or by calling 281-309-5002 or reach the 24/7 hotline at 888-384-2000. Find the department on Facebook and Twitter for emergency updates. • Visit www.gcoem.org to sign up for transportation in the event of a hurricane if you are without a vehicle or have medical considerations. If you know of neighbors or friends who may need transportation, encourage them to sign up. You are not required to take the assistance, but it will ensure you will get help if needed. • Sign up for the county Blackboard Connect system, which will provide alerts in case of a hurricane by phone, text and email. The tool is the best way to get emergency alerts. • Residents in San Leon and Bacliff can contact their water department to sign up for the notification systems for interrupted service in a hurricane and other water notices. • County emergency management officials say communities in low-lying areas of the county should be especially aware of the need to evacuate. Those areas often hardest hit by a hurricane include Bayou Vista, Bolivar and San Leon. Many people in those areas stayed during Hurricane Ike in 2008 even after the Bolivar Ferry stopped running and water service was halted. More than 120 had to be evacuated in Bolivar. 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Julie Greenwell 281-622-1244 26 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2021WINDSTORM BORN & RAISED IN GALVESTON, TX LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1892 PERSONALCOMMERCIAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS AUTO FLOOD BOATS / YACHTS MARINEUMBRELLA LIABILITY CALL 409.740.1251 VISIT 6025 Heards Lane Galveston, TX 77554 www.gia-tx.com SCAN TO CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL LIVE CHAT THERE FOR YOU THEN, HERE FOR YOU NOW 1900 Great Storm 1915 1915 Hurricane 1961 Carla 1979 Claudette 1983 Alicia 1998 Frances 2001 Allison 2005 Rita 2008 Ike 2017 Harvey LIVE UNITED CALL 2-1-1 REGISTER TODAY, BEFORE A STORM IS ON ITS WAY! If you live in a hurricane evacuation zone and you will need assistance to evacuate before a storm, call 2-1-1 to register in advance for a ride. Call 2-1-1 •If you have a disability or special health care need and you require assistance to evacuate GIVE ADVOCATE VOLUNTEER •If you do not have a vehicle and you have no one else to help you evacuate •If you want to register and you need to check if you live in an evacuation zone 2021 | Hurricane Preparedness | The Daily News | 2728 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2021 By MATT DEGROOD The Daily News When the temperatures dropped in February and millions of Texans lost power for days, many residents in Galveston County had a unique advantage — hurri- cane preparedness. Items that got Galveston County residents through the winter storm in February were many of the items saved up from last year’s hurricane season, such as portable batteries, a supply of bottled water and food and other such items for coping when the electricity goes out. As hurricane season again approaches, it’s well worth noting what items proved useful during the storm as residents prepare to with- stand inclement weather, according to officials with the National Weather Service in League City. “People in this area are more familiar with hurricane prep, but a lot of the same lessons do apply to extreme cold,” said Dan Reilly, a me- teorologist with the National Weather Service in League City. “You need to be pre- pared for a period without power and water perhaps.” The headline advice about getting ready for the hur- ricane season remains the same as it ever was, officials said. Everyone should make a plan, build an emergency kit and stay informed. The Federal Emergency Man- agement Administration has published some guidance about what to store up on during inclement weather, including medication, disinfectant, pet supplies and other food. The Red Cross recommends buying food and water for three days, a flashlight, a bat- tery-powered or hand-crank radio, extra batteries, a first aid kid, a multi-purpose tool, cell phone chargers and cop- ies of personal documents. Grocery stores may have shortages of some essential supplies in the hours before and days after a hurricane comes ashore. Many county residents also have taken to installing gen- erators in the months since plunging temperatures led to a near total collapse of the power grid, leaving millions It’s time to restock, get ready for hurricane season JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News Jose Contreras stocks up on bottled water Aug. 24, 2017 at the Kroger in Galveston as Hurricane Harvey heads toward the Texas coast.2021 | Hurricane Preparedness | The Daily News | 29 Scott Farmer looks into a generator he is having installed outside of his house in League City on Thursday. Farmer decided to install the generator after losing power at his house during February’s winter storm. He believes the generator also will be important during the approaching hurricane season. STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News photos ABOVE: An external generator stands next to an air-conditioning unit at Scott Farmer’s League City house April 22, 2020. BELOW: Farmer looks into a generator he is having installed outside of his house in League City on April 22, 2020. Farmer decided to install the generator after losing power at his house during February’s winter storm. He believes the generator also will be important during the approaching hurricane season. of Texans freezing in the dark for days. Although winter is long gone, the faith of some power consumers in the state grid’s ability to meet demand any time, especially in deep summer, has been shaken to the point that a Plan B seems prudent, even at a cost of more than $10,000. For many county residents, the winter freeze was the last straw when looking ahead at hurricane season. Larry Summer, of Friend- swood, actually beat the rush for generators when he installed his in June 2015, shortly after losing power during a bad storm, he said. “We had this lake house up near Crockett, and every time a hurricane was coming, we’d go up there,” Summer said. “One time, we got crossways and didn’t make it. One night we lost power, it got hot, and I told my wife we wouldn’t do this again.” At the time Summer in- stalled his generator, he was about the only home in the neighborhood with one, he said. But now, anytime the area loses power, you can walk outside and hear gen- erators churning across the neighborhood, he said. Generators can be a useful tool during bad weather, but residents should read safety manuals, Reilly said. Officials have seen too many instances of carbon monoxide poisoning. So, residents shouldn’t run generators in poorly ventilat- ed areas, Reilly said. “People in this area are more familiar with hurricane prep, but a lot of the same lessons do apply to extreme cold.” DAN REILLY , National Weather Service meteorologistNext >