Results tagged “emergencymanagement”

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor eschipul. Here we have a rare look inside Houston Transtar. What is Houston Transtar? According to their website, "The Houston TranStar consortium is a partnership of four government agencies that are responsible for providing Transportation Management and Emergency Management services to the Greater Houston Region." They also maintain the city's freeway camera system. If you have a passion for Houston and...

So we're all familiar with the Emergency Alert System, right? It's the thing that breaks into television and radio broadcasts to let us know about emergency situations, from explosions or terrorist attacks down to severe weather. Well, the local EAS system is on the blink right now — and, ironically enough, it was taken out by severe weather. The antenna for the radio-based alert system is atop the 31-story Five Greenway Plaza, and it seems...

So it rained a lot yesterday, and it looks like we're not going to get much of a break today. Or tomorrow. Or — well, actually, it's looking like the rail will continue for at least the next seven days. The bright spot in all this is that the rain may hold off for the big fireworks show Wednesday night: "We have seen, the last four or five days, rain in the morning and rain...

Remember earlier this year when the Dallas area said it couldn't handle the 40,000 special-needs evacuees who might need shelter there if a major hurricane hits Houston? And remember a little while later, when the area decided maybe it would be able to accommodate them after all? Well, the most recent news is that D/FW has confirmed shelter for about 16,500 evacuees so far, and now it's worried that providing for the other 23,500 could...

Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the area overnight, dumping over 6 inches in the south and east sides. Some highways are totally impassable in sections, including 288-North just north of the loop and parts of I-45 and 225 on the southeast side.

After four wet days, officials say conditions are right for flooding today if Houston gets heavy rain concentrated in an hour or so. There's been as much as 17 inches of rain since Sunday morning in some parts of the area, and though the bayous haven't overflowed, they are elevated.

Despite an offer from the city to evacuate people for free in case of a hurricane, only 800 people have registered for the service so far — about 3 percent of the 25,000 Houstonians who asked for transportation during the Rita evacuation last year.

Based on how the government's done with Katrina relief so far, Houstonist wasn't too surprised to read that FEMA will keep paying for Katrina evacuees' hotel bills past the Jan. 7 deadline while it works out bureaucratic and legal problems.