HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS GUIDE 2022 THE OFFICIAL GALVESTON COUNTYIsyourhomereadyforthenextstorm? Letusinspectitnowandreturnannually tokeepitSTRONGHOMEready! www.AranFranklin.com/StrongHome (409)935-5200|8419EmmettFLowryExpy,TexasCity CLICK,CALLORCOMEBYTOENROLL Affordablepeaceofmind AnnualinspectionsFind&assessproblems Fortifybeforethestorm starting at Threeinspectionlevelsto chosefrom Startsat$300annually,with monthlypaymentsavailable Askthe Engineer Included in ALL inspection packages! Foundation,Grading,Windows, Doors,Siding,DroneRoofView, Fireplace,Stairways,Decks, Balconies,Porches,StampedReport Essential EssentialANDPlumbing, Water,FLIRimaging, Electrical,AtticFraming Essential+ Premium Essential+ANDAppliances,GFCI Well,Drainage,Irrigation&Sprinklers Pool&Spa Included in all packages: Recommendations for needed maintenance & fortifications PLUS priority inspections after a storm!6 Stay connected with The Daily News 8 Lessons learned help build county’s hurricane preparedness 10 New tool encouraged to report disaster damage 12 Planning, preparation require strategic, tactical thinking 18 Interstate 45 construction could mean early evacuation calls 23 Hurricane evacuation ZIP zones 24 Gulf of Mexico Map 26 Hurricane 411 28 The big one is always around the corner 31 Deadliest and costliest storms 34 It’s time to restock, get ready for hurricane season 37 Prepping pets for hurricanes 39 Stay safe and sanitary when systems are out 40 Anatomy of a hurricane 41 Hurricane intensity 43 Debris-strewn roads no problem 45 How to deal with mold contamination contents 4 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2022Whereverwego,r Whereverwego,r ecoveryfollows. ecoveryfollows. mooringusa.com mooringusa.com 888-293-9953 888-293-9953 ProudlyleavingourbootprintonDisasterRecovery ProudlyleavingourbootprintonDisasterRecovery acrossTexasforthreegenerations. acrossTexasforthreegenerations. WATERREMOVAL WATERREMOVAL EMERGENCYPOWER EMERGENCYPOWER BOARD-UP|TARPING BOARD-UP|TARPING CLEAN-UP CLEAN-UP ADVANCEDSTRUCTURALDRYING ADVANCEDSTRUCTURALDRYING RECONSTRUCTION RECONSTRUCTIONFrom staff reports O ne of the most important items needed to survive and recover from a hurricane is information. For 180 years, The Galves- ton County Daily News has been the region’s top news source for local infor- mation on everything from evacuation calls to recovery efforts after the storm. Information from The Daily News is available in print, online, social media, television and radio. Much has changed since Hurricane Ike made landfall in 2008. In particular for The Daily News, information was provided not just by the printed edition of the newspaper and online at galv news.com, but the staff’s use of social media provided needed information for residents before, during and after the storm. Reporters’ tweets and Facebook posts became the lifeline for many Galveston County residents. That will continue in the event of another Ike-like storm. Updates, as well as vital information, will be available online at galvnews. com. In the event of a storm, news and information on galvnews.com will be available to all readers regardless of subscription status. Subscribers benefit because they will receive regular email updates and breaking news alerts. To get instant updates from reporters and editors who will be in the field, make sure you like The Daily News’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ galvnews and follow its Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/galvnews. Readers can help in the coverage by making public postings of news tips, photos, videos and questions to their Facebook or Twitter accounts using the hashtags #GalvNews. Thanks to the vast reach of Houston television and radio outlets, The Daily News also has long-standing partner- ships with KHOU-TV Channel 11 and News Radio 740 AM KTRH to provide regular updates on Galveston County storm and recovery news. Because a storm can disrupt home delivery of the printed edition of The Daily News and because many of the newspaper’s readers may have evacu- ated before a major storm, the printed edition will be available at select drop-off locations across Galveston County. A listing of those locations will be provided and announced once the storm has passed. Stay connected with The Daily News How to handle your subscription during a hurricane evacuation • During a mandatory evacua- tion, all deliveries will be halted. It is not necessary to call to stop your newspaper delivery. • During a voluntary evacua- tion, you should call in to place your newspaper delivery on hold. Upon your return, you can email or call to resume delivery. • While evacuated, you can stay up-to-date by visiting www. galvnews.com and following The Daily News on Facebook and Twitter. • Activate your digital access before a storm. This will ensure you can view all of the exclusive updates, stories and photos available on www.galvnews. com with your computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet. • Once the mandatory evacu- ation has been lifted, The Daily News will work vigorously to resume your delivery. • The most efficient method to contact the circulation depart- ment after a storm is through email. For assistance to activate your digital access or for general inquires regarding your sub- scription, contact the circulation department at 409-683-5201 or circulation@galvnews.com. 6 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2022The2022Hurricane SeasonisHere! We'veGotYouCovered!By JOHN WAYNE FERGUSON The Daily News If a hurricane brings major disaster to Galveston County this year, emergency manage- ment officials have some new, better ways to keep track of their response to a crisis. Sitting in the county’s emer- gency operations center in Dick- inson, Scott Tafuri, the coun- ty’s emergency management coordinator, showed off the county’s new information dash- board, which allows it to deploy resources more effectively. A map depicts disaster reports and responses in real time. Using it, the county can pinpoint where power is out and where homes are flood- ed. It pinpoints where rescue crews have been dispatched and who still needs help. The county developed the dashboard over the past year using lessons it learned from disasters like Hurricane Har- vey, the February 2021 freeze and even the COVID-19 pandemic, when the county used its disaster preparation system to manage a mass vaccination hub. “We’re able to visualize what resources we have and where they are,” Tafuri said. “We’re able to figure out how to allocate our resources better and to figure out what teams to bring in.” The dashboard is an im- provement over previous sys- tems in which the emergency management center was coor- dinating using shared Google documents, Tafuri said. The dashboard is the kind of incremental improvement to disaster planning that oc- curs in a place where disasters are common, and planning can sometimes seem rote. In 2022, the advice ahead of the Atlantic Hurricane season remains as a consis- tent as it ever was: Have a plan. Have an emergency kit ready to go. Make sure you’re signed up for alerts. Some recent disasters might provide some insight into what kinds of supplies people should have in their kits, Tafuri said. For instance, freeze knocked down cell towers around the county. If that happens in the future, people should consider buying an emergency radio, so that the very least they can tune into radio broadcasts carrying important information. They also should add photo- graphs to their kits. Last year’s Hurricane Nicholas caused wind damage around the coun- ty and was particularly unkind to fences around the county. People should take pictures of their property before any damage occurs to help with insurance claims, Tafuri said. The county attempts to refresh the message to get residents to think about their storm plans at the beginning of storm season. This year, the county debuted slickly produced public service an- nouncement videos. One features Galveston County Judge Mark Henry giving preparation device in front of a 3D rendering of a storm surge. “A lot of the years it’s the same message,” Tafuri said. “We have to figure out how to repackage it to catch people’s attention and say ‘Oh, yeah. That’s a good point.’” 8 | The Daily News | Hurricane Preparedness | 2022 Lessons learned help build county’s hurricane preparedness STUART VILLANUEVA/The Daily News file photo Galveston County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Tafuri talks about resources available to the public as hurricane season gets under way at the Office of Emergency Management headquarters in League City on May 5. “We’re able to visualize what resources we have and where they are. We’re able to figure out how to allocate our resources better and to figure out what teams to bring in.” SCOTT TAFURI, Galveston County emergency management coordinatorhoustonmethodist.org/clearlake 281.333.8899 Advanced Care Close to Home Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital provides specialized services, comprehensive emergency care and the most advanced technology and procedures available, ensuring patients receive the highest quality treatment and care — right here in our community. We are proud to offer: • Advanced imaging • Breast Care Center • Cancer Center • Cardiovascular care • Emergency services • Neurology • Orthopedics and sports medicine • Primary care • Urology and urogynecology • Weight loss surgery • Women’s services 45 225 146 146 45 HOUSTON Deer Park Pasadena Nassau Bay Friendswood WEBSTER League City DICKINSON Texas City Leading Medicine IN CLEAR LAKENext >