July 21, 2011 - On Wednesday, the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management hosted a training exercise in order for evacuation workers and volunteers to learn about the Texas Evacuation Tracking Network (ETN).  This system employs a combination of RFID, GPS and barcode technology, and was designed to simplify and automate the evacuation process of elderly, sick, diabled or able-bodied individuals who have no access to transportation during an emergency.  This system allows County officials to track buses, evacuees and their pets as they travel from Galveston  County to the point-to-point shelters in Austin.

Approximately fifty attendees learned how to apply wristbands, utilize barcode scanners and register evacuees.  This training exercise allows those who will be assisting at the County's two embarkation centers the Doyle Center in Texas City and the Island Community Center in Galveston, to become familiar with the process for registering evacuees prior to evacuating them from the County in the event a mandatory evacuation is issued for Galveston County.

The training was led by Mike Stokes, Homeland Security Coordinator for Galveston County.  IN the event of an actual evacuation, Mike will coordinate efforts at the bus staging area and the Texas City embarkation hub.  "The training went really well, I think. I was suprised at how good the turnout was, and the CERT volunteers are great to work with.  I could tell they have a strong interest in supporting emergency operations and an honest desire to help." says Mike.  Lessons learned from the event include the need for development of additional training materials, such as slideshows, videos and handouts that will make it easier for multiple persons to visualize the proper use of the equipment simultaneously when the training is conducted again next year.

Galveston County continues to monitor Tropical Storm Alex as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico, and is taking steps to prepare for potential high tides and heavy rain. County Judge Jim Yarbrough discussed the storm’s likely impacts with city leaders from across the county Tuesday morning, and directed county departments to implement their emergency plans. Because of its low elevation, Bolivar Peninsula is the most likely point of impact for the county.

 “Our road and facilities departments will be working with the Sheriff’s Office to stage equipment on Bolivar Peninsula in the event Highway 87 becomes impassible,” Judge Yarbrough said. “We will be prepared to barricade portions of the highway if necessary, and will remove debris from the roadway before allowing traffic to proceed.”

Yarbrough urged county residents to review their hurricane plans now, before a major storm approaches.

“This event should serve as a reminder that storms can form quickly and be on, or near, our doorstep in a few days or less,” the judge said. “Don’t wait until a major storm is in the Gulf to make your hurricane plans.”

The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management is not activated at this time. However, the staff is participating in local and state conference calls and coordinating potential response activities with county departments and local jurisdictions. The county judge urged citizens to stay tuned to local weather reports for the latest information on Tropical Storm Alex. In addition, he asked residents to sign up for emergency phone and email messages by visiting www.gcoem.org.

Eighty emergency response personnel from 31 local, state, federal and private sector organizations in Galveston and Harris Counties conducted a Tabletop Exercise on Tuesday (November 17, 2009) to test their response to a simulated hydrofluoric or HF acid release.  Sponsored by the Galveston County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), the exercise was conducted at the League City Civic Center. 

NOTE:  Click on the document link below to download a Word version of the entire News Release.  To download four high-resolution .JPG photos from the exercise, visit:  www.gcinfo.org

Galveston County’s recovery from Hurricane Ike is well under way, but there remains a great deal of work to be done.
Grant funds are arriving soon, and many projects will be undertaken to improve infrastructure and housing to help our communities weather the next storm.

One very special project is the Bolivar Blueprint, a long-term recovery initiative that will help the severely impacted peninsula residents chart a better future. A Steering Committee, Technical Committee and multiple subcommittees conducted a number of meetings, including public outreach, to launch the Blueprint process between February and May.

A team from FEMA provided technical assistance and helped the county produce a draft Blueprint document that explains the process, offers alternate routes for the development of various community-driven projects, and includes comments from many citizens about how to proceed.

Citizens are encouraged to download the document and stay involved in recovery efforts for Bolivar Peninsula. Please visit our web site regularly for updates and meeting notices.

Download the Bolivar Blueprint here.