It’s What You Do before the Storm …

By Gloria Way

  Chambers County Commissioners Court called a special meeting last Friday at 11:30am. The single agenda item was for the Court to vote on extending the disaster declaration for the county. They unanimously approved the extension and a discussion ensued on how the County handled the response to Hurricane Beryl.

  County Judge Jimmy Sylvia, who as county judge is the head of all emergency management operations within the county, repeatedly stressed that residents need to take personal responsibility for preparing for the storm. Ryan Holzaepfel, Emergency Services Coordinator and Samantha Humphrey, Public Information Officer and Economic Development Director, informed the Court that they used all social media outlets to inform Chambers County residents about the incoming storm, etc. They talked about residents registering with the statewide 211 to inform local EMS about infirmed, disabled, and/or senior citizens who would need assistance during an emergency. The Chambers Warns system was discussed and Holzaepfel and Humphrey both suggested that there need to be other ways to reach the people in the county. One commissioner discussed having billboards throughout the county showcasing the Chambers Warns Emergency system and the statewide 211to preregister residents who will need assistance. His idea of billboards was shut down immediately which was amazing to me as all elected officials use billboards to promote their reelection campaigns.

  All commissioners agreed that a shelter needs to be open in each segment of the county. But they all discussed this should happen after the storm. This is where I beg to differ with our county leadership. All weather experts predicted that there would be power outages throughout the “cone” of Hurricane Beryl. The experts talked about the possibility of Beryl making landfall as a Category 1 and possible 2 hurricane as it was gaining strength over the extremely warm waters of the Texas gulf coast. The county judge issued a disaster declaration on Sunday, the day before the expected landfall. He should have immediately opened the “dome” in East Chambers, White’s Park community building in Anahuac, and the new west side complex community center. All three facilities were built according to hurricane specifications. All have generators and all have refrigerators. Announce before the storm that the facilities are open and residents can “ride out” the storm with power and air conditioning.

  What made a difficult situation even worse was that after Beryl came through, most of the residents in Chambers County lost phone service and internet service which meant phone calls were being dropped, texts, and emails were not being delivered for days. This means that communication to the residents regarding shelters should have been made before the storm because after the storm, all lines of communication were down. Holzaepfel commented that only 10 people called the emergency operations center after the storm looking for assistance. Could it be because most people could not call because they had no phone service? Comments were made that White’s Park community building was open two days after the storm and only one person showed up. Did anyone know the community building was open? You can’t communicate a message after the phones and internet have gone out.

  A major discussion involved the county’s box sites and debris removal. Once more a plan should have been in place about how to deal with and dispose of debris. They talked about having staggered hours of operation so as not to overwhelm a box site location. The county has repeatedly said they have contracts with debris removal companies but apparently these companies were not activated. The county judge alluded to that county employees were clearing debris from county roads, etc.

  There was discussion on the financial costs of the storm. By the time a disaster declaration is called, the financial aftermath is anticipated to be significant. Once a certain threshold of disaster damage is reached, FEMA will reimburse the county $.75 to $1.00. That threshold has been reached for Hurricane Beryl. But, the county needs to think more in terms of servings its citizens instead of worrying about getting reimbursed. If you open a shelter and no one comes, shut it down. The costs cannot be that significant. That is why people pay taxes.

  Judge Sylvia emphasized that he feels that Chambers County has one of the best Office of Emergency Services teams in the state. That may be so, but the team must realize that emergency management begins before the storm hits, not only afterwards. This means opening shelters in designated areas as soon as the disaster declaration is given. Not everybody can afford generators. Not everyone has family or friends where they can ride out the storm. But everyone needs power for air conditioning, refrigeration for medicines, power for oxygen and C-Pap machines, and communications devices. And, everyone should know before the storm hits where the shelters will be. The dome at East Chambers High School was designed  by FEMA specifically to be a shelter. No one in East Chambers county should think twice about where to go. The dome should always be activated as soon as possible after the emergency declaration is made. The same with Anahuac and the west side. White’s Park community building and the new west side complex community building should be opened as soon as well.

  An effective emergency services team should plan, prepare, and practice … the three “Ps”. Plan on power outages. There has never been a storm without power outages. Power outages means no electricity for air conditioning, refrigeration, medical devices, and communications electronics. Plan on where residents can go to not only shelter from the storm but to be able to refrigerator their medications, and to also recharge their electronics and phones.

  Prepare. Make sure the county residents know where the shelters will be located, and that she shelters have at the least water and ice (which all three shelters do). Practice. Conduct drills every year to implement the plan so when the storm hits, the county will be ready.

  Plan. Prepare. Practice.