 The
Setting
Fort Bend County is located near the Texas Gulf Coast in
hurricane country. The population is estimated at 500,000, up
39% since the 2000 census, a pretty significant growth rate. In
fact, Fort Bend County is the 20th fastest growing county in the
United States. It is a busy area, too, with US Highways 59 and
90 and State Highways 6 and 36 crisscrossing the County. At any
given time, if you include Gulf Coast area visitors, thousands
of motorists could be on more than 2,000 miles of roads in the
County at any given time.
The Need
In 2005, Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Braun of Fort
Bend County realized his department needed a way to reach these
people during hurricane evacuations. He explains it this way: “A
confluence of things came together. The US was experiencing more
hurricanes. I saw an emergency advisory radio system ad in a
professional publication that connected me to Information
Station Specialists and theRADIOsource.com. The Texas Department
of Transportation uses similar systems, so I was familiar with
the concept. Although I knew we needed an emergency broadcast
system that would cover the entire County [886 square miles], I
also knew we couldn’t buy everything immediately.”
The Plan and Preliminary Funding
Fort Bend County decided to start small that year with funding
they secured from the Department of Homeland Security for
enhancing emergency notifications, such as, “significant road
closures" or "assisting in emergencies.” The intent: to build a
grow-able system that could be further developed over time, as
more funds became available. Jake Haggerty, the Homeland
Security Planner for the County’s Office of Emergency
Management, coordinated the purchase of two portable emergency
advisory radio stations (RoadRunnRs) that could be quickly
deployed to trouble spots. Each is completely wireless with a
10-day operational battery backup and operates primarily on
solar power. That is, AC power, which often goes down during
emergencies, is not simiply required for RoadRunnRs. Each includes immediate automatic NOAA
all-hazard notification programming, targeted to the Fort Bend
area. And each includes messages created by Fort Bend County
emergency management staff.
That same year, 2005, sure enough, the Houston region faced the
threat of Hurricane Rita. The RoadRunnRs went into action. Fort
Bend is immediately north of Brazoria and Galveston Counties,
along evacuation routes. Braun relates, “As a result of
Hurricane Rita, there was gridlock along the evacuation routes.
Vehicles extended from our southern-most to our northern-most
borders, caused by backups in the preceding coastal counties, as
people tried to leave.” Lessons learned, he says, included:
“Just as we already knew, two RoadRunnRs were not enough to
communicate fully with the citizens and visitors served during
hurricane season.” Each FCC-allocated station is licensed to
cover up to 78 square miles or about 8% of the total County
area.
The Solution
The Office of Emergency Management called on ISS to propose a
system that would provide complete coverage across the County,
approximately 875 square miles. ISS representatives met in Texas
with County emergency officials to select installation sites and
monitor available frequencies, based on FCC rules and County
needs. ISS reps are strategically located across the country to
assist customers. Nick Oldenkamp, the Texas rep, felt the people
in Fort Bend County were "wonderful to work with." Their conclusion: add one fixed ALERT AM emergency
advisory radio host station with nine satellite repeater
stations in a synchronized group to “speak across the entire
County with one voice.” The County would continue to deploy
mobile RoadRunnRs to any special-need trouble spots, such as
specific incidents, i.e., river flooding events or hazmat
incidents. |
Additional Funding
Emergency Operations in Fort Bend set to work looking at FEMA’s
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding to pay for the
planned expansion of the County’s emergency advisory radio
system. The HMGP provides grants to states and local governments
to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major
disaster declaration. The purpose of the HMGP is to reduce the
loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable
mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate
recovery from a disaster. Braun admits that applying for federal
funding is a “competitive endeavor.” Even so, the County
garnered 75% of the total expenditure to be paid by FEMA. The
County paid the other 25% or about $97,500.
Lessons Learned in Fort Bend
 •
Emergency managers might have to develop a full system
gradually, adding stations each year, as funding becomes
available. (It is useful to be aware, also, that stations may be
leased to be tested, if purchase is not possible initially
and/or staff is unfamiliar with the technology.)
• FCC guidelines must be followed, for example, station
locations might not be possible only on County property. In Fort
Bend’s case, several jurisdictions within the coverage area
needed to cooperate, so stations could be located at municipal
fire stations, a state park and even a power plant. “Fort Bend
County has a history of working together on emergency-related
projects,” says Jeff Braun. “So this wasn’t really an issue; we
have formed two regional hazmat response teams, and fifteen of
our sixteen jurisdictions are party to the County’s EOC plan.
Besides, this wasn’t a real ‘invasive’ project – just a few
small antennas with minor electrical costs. The ‘greater good’
was understood by all involved. The state park was excited about
the prospect of being able to broadcast info about park
closures. The power plant is a long-term entity in our community
with the leader of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
working there, a relationship we built on. There was ‘the devil
in the details,’ however, such as working out legal agreements,
which the County Attorney handled on our behalf.”
The Future
 “Our
project is not finished yet,” Braun enjoins. “Right now, we are
looking at signage options to more fully advertise the stations,
so listeners know when and were to tune. We want to use flashing
signs along with static signs containing standard text and will
use grant money for that as well. Signs will be our primary way
of marketing the system, although a few jurisdictions have
already began publishing articles about the system. Also, County
emergency officials speak about the new emergency advisory radio
system at hurricane workshops they hold for other first
responders, such as the Red Cross, hospitals and citizen
volunteers. We just went through the Hurricane Dean threat. Most
of our messages to date have been NOAA broadcasts and hurricane
related preventive messages, created by our staff that we want
listeners to be aware of.”
 Contact
Jeff Braun for
more details about Fort Bend’s project. January 2008, Braun
was elected to serve on Texas' Emergency Management
Association's board of directors. Braun also serves as Vice
Chair of the Houston-Galveston Area Council's Regional Homeland
Security Coordinating Committee and Chair of the Regional
Collaboration Committee of the Houston Urban Area Security
Initiative Working Group. He was appointed to the Texas
Preparedness Advisory Committee by the State's Chief of
Emergency Management. |
