Valley ready for Hurricane season

Cameron and Willacy counties are fine-tuning their preparations for hurricane season, recalling lessons learned from 2008’s Hurricane Dolly.

Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said budget restrictions will not affect emergency preparedness.

“As we have every year since I took office, we have pre-positioned contracts for debris removal and hazardous materials removal,” Cascos said.

Preparing for hurricanes is a year-round effort, he said.

“It’s not just something we start a few weeks out,” he said of the June 1 official beginning of hurricane season.

“We’ve got our … ditches cleaned up. Right now we’re in post-prep mode. It’s a year-round endeavor.”

Coordinating with neighboring counties is also critical, Cascos said.

“Our relationships with Willacy and Hidalgo counties is critical,” he said.

Cameron County Emergency Management Director Johnny Cavazos said communications equipment and systems for emergency service providers, including state, county, police, fire and paramedics is much improved.

His office now has 10 satellite telephones, as well as Sprint “Go-Kit” cellular phone systems, “satellite cow” portable antenna systems, Wi-Fi systems and communication systems for deaf people are now available, Cavazos said. Communications for Spanish-only speakers is handled by local radio stations, he said.

Cavazos and Cascos said cooperation of local and national retailers such as H-E-B grocery stores, Lowe’s, True Value, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, Stripes and Valero is a key factor in hurricane preparations, moving extra supplies of gasoline, diesel fuel, batteries, flashlights, bottled water and food in advance of a storm’s approach.

State officials, through the Texas Department of Public Safety, will ensure supplies of extra fuel will be provided along evacuation routes.

People who don’t drive their own vehicles will be instructed through local news media to gather at pick-up points in each county where school buses will collect them and take them to central collection points for evacuation, officials said.

Those people should pre-register now by dialing 211, Cavazos said. Operators at 211 also can provide all other types of information about emergency preparations, he said.

In Cameron County, the central collection point for evacuees will be the county annex building on Oscar Williams Road, the former Levi’s factory, in San Benito, and Willacy County residents will be taken to the Raymondville High School parking lot.

Evacuees will then be transferred to motor coaches provided by the state, Cavazos said.

State officials and county judges will announce either voluntary or mandatory evacuations, officials said. Residents who plan to drive their own cars will be encouraged to leave early.

Cameron County’s more than 387,000 residents and Willacy County’s 20,500 residents will be evacuated, rather than provided with shelters before a hurricane makes a direct hit on the Rio Grande Valley, local officials said. The Red Cross will not set up shelters in coastal
counties ahead of a hurricane.

After the storm passes through, local officials will announce any shelter openings as needed through local news media, officials said.

In Willacy County plans also are in place and funding is available for necessary supplies and fuel that would be needed in the event of a hurricane, flooding or other catastrophe, interim Willacy County Judge Aurelio “Keter” Guerra said.

“We are in a much better (financial) position than back in 2004,” Guerra said. “That’s when the county had to go out and borrow money just to function.”

But even so, counties still must rely on the state to provide many resources in a disaster situation, Guerra said.

On June 5, a meeting for elected county and city officials was held in the morning and a four-hour information fair was held at the Willacy County Emergency Medical Service
headquarters in the afternoon, Willacy County Emergency Disaster Director Frank Torres said.
Torres, who is also Willacy County EMS director and Raymondville fire chief, said he will recommend evacuation of county residents if a Category 3 or stronger storm is predicted, but in some circumstances, he may even recommend evacuation if a Category 2 storm is anticipated.

“We’re in the tail end of the (Valley) floodway system,” Torres said.

With storm water flowing toward Port Mansfield from all over the Rio Grande Valley, flooding could be severe even with a Category 2 storm, Torres said.

The county judge will decide whether to order either a voluntary or mandatory evacuation, Torres said.

“Nobody wants to have to leave their homes,” he said. But if a high storm surge is predicted because of an approaching hurricane, he and other officials will rely on recommendations of the National Weather Service, Army Corps of Engineers and National Hurricane Center, Torres said.

“We’re a coastal county, so it makes no sense to stay here if there’s going to be a high storm surge and heavy flooding,” he said.

“People shouldn’t wait for a mandatory evacuation order.”

Newspapers, television and radio stations will give advance notice if evacuation is planned and families should make their own plans to clear out well in advance of a hurricane, Torres said.

State officials and the Red Cross will provide food, cots and other supplies and emergency workers when shelters are opened in school buildings after a storm passes through, Torres said.

One of two 16-bed field hospitals is located at Willacy EMS, Torres said. If necessary, more temporary hospital space can be set up in school buildings, he said.

In the aftermath of a major hurricane, it could be many days, or even weeks, before electric power is restored and water drained from flooded roads, Torres said.

“People think if they have a portable generator, they can stick it out,” Torres said. “But if the power stays off, they may not even be able to buy gasoline.”

Beginning June 1, residents of coastal counties should never allow the gasoline in their family cars to go below half a tank, Torres said.

Families should prepare hurricane kits with supplies such as flashlights, extra batteries, first aid kits, prescription medicines, travel food, bottled water and extra clothing, as well as pet food, in order to be ready for possible evacuation, he said.