With the memories of Hurricane Harvey still fresh, researchers and policymakers across the state of Texas are taking a proactive approach in preparing for future storms by looking at the past for lessons and girding up resources.
“Hurricane season is unpredictable, and as we saw last year with Hurricane Harvey, these powerful storms can cause dangerous conditions and leave behind major devastation,” said Gov. Greg Abbott while declaring this week 'Hurricane Preparedness Week' in Texas. “By preparing ahead of time, we can help ensure our state is ready when natural disaster strikes.”
University of Houston civil and environmental engineering Professor Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan (Vipu), who is also director of the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology, will be presenting at the 2018 Texas Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio. His session titled “Hurricane Harvey Impact Survey, Flooding and Debris Issues and Lessons Learned for Rapid Recovery” is at 2:30 pm. Wednesday, May 16.
The impact survey, conducted by the Texas Hurricane Center, received responses from more than 150 affected zip codes. The collected data covers preparedness, evacuation, flooding insurance, power loss, debris and recovery. Researchers used the data to identify the many factors that contributed to damage and suffering in Harvey-impacted neighborhoods.
“With over 300 submitted workshops, yours was a standout and we look forward to your presentation at the conference,” wrote Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management in a letter to Vipulanandan.
The conference attracts more than 2,500 elected officials, first responders, emergency managers and decision makers from across Texas, according to TEMC literature.
The 2018 hurricane season starts June 1 and lasting through Nov. 30.