Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of an anticipated severe weather system moving across Texas, starting Friday and into the weekend.
“The State of Texas stands ready to swiftly deploy emergency resources to Texans as severe weather impacts communities across our state,” said Governor Abbott. “As we monitored the development of the weather system, state and local emergency management personnel were on standby to support our fellow Texans. I urge all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials, make an emergency plan, and monitor roadways to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Remember: turn around, don’t down.”
According to the National Weather Service, a severe weather system moved across the state throughout the weekend and was expected to bring heavy rainfall, damaging wind, large hail, and the potential for river flooding across river basins already saturated from last week’s excessive rainfall.
At the direction of Governor Abbott, TDEM has activated the following state emergency response resources to support severe weather response operations: Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1): Swiftwater boat squads.
Additionally, TDEM has placed the following resources on standby to support severe weather operations as warranted: Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2): Urban Search and Rescue Teams with boat capabilities, high profile vehicles; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens and boat squads;
Texas National Guard: Personnel, high-profile vehicles; Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel and equipment to assist with traffic control and road closures; Texas A&M Forest Service: Incident Management Teams and saw crews; Texas Department of State Health Services (Emergency Medical Task Force): Severe weather packages; Texas Department of Public Safety: Tactical Marine Unit and helicopters with hoist capabilities; and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/ wastewater monitoring.
Texans are urged to prepare for severe weather impacts by taking safety precautions, including heeding warnings of local officials, making an emergency plan, and monitoring local weather forecasts. Texans can check road conditions at DriveTexas.org and access flood tracking information at TexasFlood.org.