EMERGENCY MANAGERS PREPARE FOR 2010 HURRICANE SEASON The Facts : May 12, 2010 Emergency managers prepare for 2010 hurricane season May 12, 2010. By NATHANIEL LUKEFAHR FREEPORT - When Marcus Rabren needs an update on a hurricane churning in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazoria's emergency management coordinator turns to the National Weather Service. Rabren, who also is the city's fire chief, prefers the U.S government's weather bureau over other forecasters because of its timeliness. "Before storms even get to the Gulf, they'll start dropping us e-mail saying this has a potential of entering the Gulf," Rabren said. The National Weather Service, formed in 1870 as the U.S. Weather Bureau, collects data on temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, surf and wind speed at 122 locations nationwide using satellites, data buoys and weather balloons. It also operates the National Hurricane Center in Miami, whose specialists track and predict tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes using satellites and aircraft. "We work very hard to give emergency managers strong information they can use to make decisions about their areas," said Gene Hafele, chief meteorologist for the National Weather Service Houston-Galveston Office. The weather service's information was critical to officials' decision-making in September 2008 as Hurricane Ike neared the Texas coast. "Especially when you start having to tell people to evacuate," Brazoria County Emergency Management Coordinator Kenneth "Doc" Adams said. "We didn't come to those decisions lightly. There was a lot of hard, down-to-earth discussion based on information we had." HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters at Colorado State University have predicted an above-average hurricane season, with 11 to 16 named storms, six to eight hurricanes and three to five major hurricanes, which are those of Category 3 strength or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Residents should expect to receive Brazoria County's 2010 Hurricane Preparedness Guide by mail the first week of June, Adams said. The guide includes information on evacuation plans, public shelters and first responders' contact information. It is online at www.brazoria-county.com, Freeport Emergency Management Coordinator Chris Motley said. Motley also acts as Freeport's deputy fire chief. The Facts will publish its annual hurricane guide June 1. "I think the biggest thing is people need to learn from Hurricane Ike," Rabren said. "For a while, it looked like it was going to come to Matagorda, and we would have been hit a lot harder. People need to be prepared. It's about awareness." Ike's 110 mph wind and 20-foot storm surge pummeled the Texas coastline early Sept. 13, 2008, causing more than 800,000 insurance claims totaling more than $10 billion in damages, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. First responders determined 20 people died in the Category 2 storm, but none died in Brazoria County. STORM SEMINARS Local emergency managers have scheduled six hurricane preparedness seminars in June throughout the county at which residents can learn about how to get ready for the upcoming storm season. "It will help them prepare themselves, their family and their homes for a hurricane," Adams said. "There's a lot of information that will help them get ready for when something happens." Residents also can ask questions at the seminars, and the panel will be able to provide answers, Motley said. The seminars are set to begin June 1, and will be at meeting halls in Alvin, Angleton, Brazoria, Freeport, Lake Jackson and Pearland, Adams said. That city's emergency management coordinator will lead each presentation, which is localized for that area. The seminars are free. 211 SERVICE People who anticipate needing transportation assistance during an evacuation need to sign up with the 211 registry immediately, emergency management coordinators said. To register, dial 211. People who signed up for the service previously do not need to call operators again, unless their information has changed, Adams said. "If anything has changed, they need to update it," Adams said. "If there are any changes, maybe more or less people in a household than there were last year, maybe more or less pets from last year or anything like that, they need to call again." People who have registered will be taken by bus to shelters in Belton until it is safe to return to Brazoria County. "The earlier you sign up, the better," Motley said. "It's an important part of the evacuation for those who are not able to get out on their own." Copyright 2010, The Facts, Clute, TX.