Heavy rains in June and this month have caused flooding throughout the Rio Grande Valley, including the UTRGV campus in Edinburg.
Planning is key to minimizing damage, no matter the emergency.
September is National Preparedness Month and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is emphasizing the importance of planning with the theme, “Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How.”
FEMA prepared a weekly plan with recommendations and activities to do at home, businesses and communities in case of a disaster.
For Week 1 (Sept. 1-8), the agency suggests making an emergency plan, signing up for alerts and warnings in your area, learning the evacuation zones and having an evacuation plan.
In Week 2 (Sept. 9-15), FEMA advises the public to learn lifesaving skills, how to mitigate your home against flood damage and how to turn off utilities, such as natural gas.
During Week 3 (Sept. 16-22), it suggests checking insurance coverage and looking into flood insurance.
In Week 4 (Sept 23-30), FEMA recommends planning financially for a possible disaster and maintaining emergency savings.
Benny Barrera, a computer science freshman, said it is important to be prepared for the unexpected.
“You never know what could happen,” Barrera said. “You cannot expect things.”
However, Cristobal Navarrete, a mechanical engineering junior, is prepared for an emergency situation.
“In my house, we prepare with food and kept sandbags and all that,” Navarrete said.
Pablo Mendez, emergency management coordinator for the UTRGV Office of Emergency Preparedness, said the Rio Grande Valley can expect natural disasters, such as hurricanes, thunderstorms, wildfires and technological disasters, such as power outages and cyberattacks.
At this time of year, thunderstorms happen due to the hot weather transitioning to cold weather, and hurricanes are more likely to affect the region, he said.
Mendez said the UTRGV Office of Emergency Preparedness website provides a lot of information, including emergency plans and annexes for various situations, such as hurricanes, crisis communications, inclement weather and loss of life.
“We developed that website, so it’s not only something [that] you can do while you are here on campus, also, more importantly, what you can do when you are home with your loved ones,” Mendez said.
This summer’s flooding damaged some vehicles on the Edinburg campus.
Richard Costello, director of Environmental Health Safety and Risk Management, told The Rider his office received 10 reports of damaged vehicles.
“The cars were impacted, all in different ways,” Costello said. “In a couple of cases, they were declared as total losses, because there was engine damage. … In the majority of cases, it was basically damage to the floorboard, replacement of the carpet and stuff like that. The institution worked with each one of them to address the out-of-pocket cost. Most of them were covered by insurance.”
The compensation amount for the vehicles affected has not been decided, but the individuals can expect an answer probably in two weeks, Costello said.
The Office of Emergency Preparedness, Office of Environmental Health and Risk Management, and Facilities, as well as other UTRGV departments, work closely with the City of Brownsville and the City of Edinburg during emergency situations to ensure the safety of the community.
However, Mendez said the UTRGV Edinburg campus depends on the city drainage system.
“Basically, we are a resident of the city,” Mendez said. “I’m not trying to blame the city for stuff, but it’s just a matter of how everything goes, because everything is connected.”
Costello agreed with Mendez that the university depends on the city to address flooding issues.
“When you look at the Rio Grande Valley as a whole, our ability to get the water out of our campus is a function of Edinburg’s flood control,” Costello said. “Edinburg’s flood control is a function of McAllen’s flood control, Pharr’s flood control, Weslaco’s flood control, and that is the big issue. The local cities are not working together as a whole to deal with the flooding issue.”
The institution is looking for ways to solve the flooding issues independently by improving the drainage on campus.
In case of a possible threat of any kind to the university community, the UTRGV Emergency Alert Notification system will send a message through email, text messages, voice messages and university-owned personal computer alerts and the university Facebook page, according to the Office of Emergency Preparedness website.
For more information on National Preparedness Month, visit https://www.ready.gov.
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