Emergency Response

It has only been a few weeks since Ms. Dolly made her presence known in Deep South Texas, but already the lessons she left behind are apparent. On July 23, 2008, this Category 2 storm with an innocent name hovered over our region for nearly 12 hours, dumping between 18 inches to 25 inches in some spots. Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties sustained millions of dollars in … [Read more...] about LESSONS FROM DOLLY

State agencies and local governments throughout Texas will be better prepared for emergencies thanks to $2.6 million recently awarded to the national Council of State Archivists (CoSA) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funding for the national initiative will enable the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to provide critical training and services to … [Read more...] about Preserving Essential County Records in Times of CrisisTraining Project on the Horizon

The Governor's Division of Emergency Management (GDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced that disaster assistance is available for Texas residents in Bexar, Harris, Jones, Kendall, Medina and Taylor counties who were affected by Tropical Storm Erin, Aug. 14-20, 2007. Federal coordinating officer Kenneth Clark and GDEM state coordinating … [Read more...] about Disaster NewsFEMA Registration Available For Texans Affected By Tropical Storm Erin

If your house is on fire and you dial 9-1-1, the last thing you want to hear is: "We can't come right now. Our fund-raiser was rained out." For years in Texas, rural and suburban communities relied on volunteer firefighters. The volunteers funded their operations with the generosity of the community … [Read more...] about ESDs: The Future of Safety in Texas

On September 11, 2001, the question, "What if?" was replaced by the question, "What's next?" We no longer wondered what would happen if terrorists launched a large-scale strike on American soil. We witnessed the horror firsthand when 19 Islamic extremists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners in a series of coordinated suicide attacks that killed some … [Read more...] about Collin County Department of Homeland Security Think Globally, Act Locally