National Weather Service officials shared an update on Tropical Storm Francine that is projected to impact the the Gulf coast on Sept. 11 with maximum wind gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with roughly 25 to 30 miles per hour wind gusts along Galveston Bay. Ahead of the tropical storm, local city officials are sharing how they're preparing for the potential of rain and wind affecting the coastline and beyond.
What they're saying
Bellaire officials announced how their public works team is clearing out drains, cleaning manholes and storm inlets to minimize drainage issues on the streets. They're also sweeping streets to clear any debris that might cause flooding.
West University Place officials said they're closely monitoring the tropical storm and are prepared to quickly respond should the forecast change.
Brays Oaks Super Neighborhood Council #36 officials shared in an email how Houston departments, including police, fire and solid waste, are on standby ready to respond if needed.
What residents should know
In preparation, all three municipalities offered various tips, including:
- Staying informed by monitoring local news
- Clearing out drains and gutters at homes
- Bringing lightweight objects inside
- Parking vehicles in the driveway or garage, away from the street
- Planning for five to seven days of food, water and medication to last through power outages
- Knowing evacuation routes
- Ensuring pets have a safety plan, including food, water and shelter
On the other hand
CenterPoint Energy hosted an in-person meeting at their Greenspoint facility on Sept. 9 discussing how the utility company was handling operations on Tropical Storm Francine, stating in a news release how they’ve been actively monitoring the system in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the weekend leading up to the meeting.
By the numbers
While the utility officials said the tropical storm seems to be heading east towards Louisiana, they still launched mutual aid and resources for the neighboring state. As for the Greater Houston region, a handful of measures have been put in place as of Sept. 9.
- 1,300-plus vegetation resources activated, with at least 600 resources activated locally
- 1,850-plus local distribution line workers available now
- 1,625-plus additional support activated including mutual aid and damage assessors
- Four station sites planned
Also of note
Officials spoke to the media saying they didn’t anticipate rolling blackouts in the area and cited the company’s ongoing resiliency plan efforts post Hurricane Beryl that devastated the Greater Houston region in July.
Since Beryl, multiple initiatives have been completed in the region as part of CenterPoint Energy’s resiliency plan, including installing more than 1,100 stronger poles, trimming high-risk vegetation across more than 2,000 power lines, according to the CenterPoint’s website.
Part of the resiliency plan included launching a new, cloud-based outage tracker on Aug. 1 that officials said was meant to communicate more accurately estimated times for power restoration by county, city and zip code. Residents can access the new tracker here: CenterPoint Energy’s outage tracker.
