Tag Archives: FEMA

The weather folks are doing their best

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hold space in your hearts for them, because our safety depends to some extent on their success. With hurricane season underway and an above-normal activity forecast, some National Weather Service offices like Houston — where as many as 44% of positions are vacant … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The weather folks are doing their best

It’s more than just FEMA

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The 2025 hurricane season is underway. It won’t be just the storms that determine how bad it is. FEMA leads the federal response when disaster strikes. It coordinates rescue efforts, provides temporary housing and medical help, and offers financial assistance to … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A start-of-hurricane-season roundup

Posted on May 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest forecast. The nation’s top weather agency, where federal job cuts and staffing shortages are stretching forecast resources thin, is predicting 13 to 19 named storms in its 2025 hurricane season outlook released Thursday. This hurricane season, which begins in less … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who cares about weather disasters?

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not the Trump administration. The Trump administration’s steep staff cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) triggered shutdowns of several climate-related programs Thursday. Perhaps most notably, the NOAA announced it would be shuttering the “billion-dollar weather and climate disasters” database … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who cares about weather disasters?

The cost of the warming centers

Posted on March 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this last week. The City of Houston spent about $6.5 million as the January winter storm brought freezing temperatures and snow to the region. Mayor John Whitmire’s chief of staff, Chris Newport, told the city’s resilience committee Thursday that the 10 … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We better not have a disaster this year

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We will not be able to recover from it as things stand right now. After a series of severe hurricanes hit the Texas Gulf Coast and other U.S. coastlines last summer, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was nearing its limits. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Whitmire plays his greatest hits

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor John Whitmire gave his first State of the City address this week. Here’s the preview story for what we were to expect. Mayor John Whitmire will lay out his administration’s priorities during his inaugural State of the City address … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Other Beryl stuff

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A mini-roundup, with mostly non-CenterPoint things. How’s your Internet service? An Xfinity spokesperson said Wednesday that service was restored to approximately 355,000 customers — or about 36% of those experiencing service outages — in the 36 hours after Hurricane Beryl … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Power by Wednesday?

Posted on May 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As of 5 PM Saturday, CenterPoint said that 447K customers were still without power, which is about half of the original total from Thursday night. The hope is that 90% of all customers will have power by Wednesday. Which, given … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

How Harris County has spent COVID relief funds

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of good stuff here. Harris County has received around $1.8 billion in federal aid to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, a staggering sum that provided struggling residents with immediate emergency relief, has kept county services running and is fueling … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

“Near normal” hurricane season this year

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, bad news. Texas and the rest of the Gulf and East coasts are most likely to see a “near-normal” hurricane season this year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Federal forecasters are predicting between 12 and … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Near normal” hurricane season this year

Here come the new floodplain maps

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Coming soon to tell you if you are now in the floodplain. When Harris County debuts a massive overhaul of its floodplain maps later this year, the Houston area will be the first in the country to rely on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here come the new floodplain maps

We keep on building homes in the floodplains

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s how we roll. When Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston region with a deluge of rain, one of the places where the water escaped its bounds was near a Spring Branch floodway known as Brickhouse Gully, satellite data shows. There, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on We keep on building homes in the floodplains

Let’s try again to fix that flood bond deficit

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. Harris County on Tuesday [unveiled] a new plan to address a funding gap for its flood bond program, which will rely more heavily on diverted toll road revenue instead of federal aid that may never arrive. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commissioners Court partially fills the flood bond funding gap

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Commissioners Court took initial steps this week to plug a $1.4 billion funding hole for its flood bond program by diverting revenue from the county’s toll roads system. Court members also laid out a “backstop” plan to … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Commissioners Court partially fills the flood bond funding gap

Now it gets harder to vaccinate people

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We reached this point pretty quickly. The hill gets steeper from here. After months of not having enough COVID-19 vaccines to meet demand, Texas suddenly appears to have plenty of shots but not as many people lining up to receive … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Get your shot at the airport

Posted on March 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I applaud the creative thinking, which we will continue to need. Parking lots at Bush and Hobby airports soon will be home to mass vaccination clinics for the Houston Health Department, as the supply of shots continues to ramp up. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Get your shot at the airport

Flood funding shortfall

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Still trying to understand this. Harris County on Tuesday revealed a $1.4 billion shortfall in funding for flood control projects under the bond program voters approved in 2018, a massive miscalculation that threatens to cause construction delays and cost taxpayers … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Flood funding shortfall

Why is Greg Abbott doing so little to help Texas recover from the freeze?

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

If this Politico story doesn’t make you mad, then either you’re a Greg Abbott shill or you really need to check your priors. Assessing the effectiveness of disaster response is a famously fraught political game. What looks like a master … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Biden’s visit to Houston

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s so nice to have a normal, functional person as President, isn’t it? President Joe Biden, in his first trip to Texas since taking office, toured Houston on Friday to size up the aftermath of the state’s recent winter weather … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Vaccination progress

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Making progress. One in eight Harris County residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines, according to state and local data. A Chronicle analysis found that the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

President Biden will visit Houston on Friday

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here he comes. President Joe Biden plans to come to Texas on Friday in the wake of extensive winter storm damage in the state. The president and First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Houston, according to a White House … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On informing the public during an emergency

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing the state didn’t do well. As millions of Texans fought to survive brutal winter weather without power and water, Gov. Greg Abbott told residents Wednesday to search for emergency warming shelters on Google and to call 311 for … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

We can get back to vaccinations

Posted on February 22, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Federal vaccination super site opening this week. COVID-19 vaccination efforts are about to significantly ramp up next week in Houston. The region’s first vaccination “super site” will open on Tuesday at NRG Stadium, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced on … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here comes President Biden

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Visiting next week for disaster-related matters, itinerary TBD. President Joe Biden said Friday that he’ll sign a major disaster declaration for Texas after millions in the state suffered power outages and water disruptions during prolonged freezing temperatures. He’s also expected … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here come the super-sites

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Texas is working with the federal government to open vaccination “super sites” that could administer upward of 5,000 COVID-19 vaccines per day, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday. Houston and Dallas will likely host the initial two sites, Abbott said, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here come the super-sites

More vaccines coming

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Still not enough, but getting better. Texas this week expects to receive more than half a million first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government, state health officials announced Friday. The 520,425 doses will be shipped to 344 … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Who needs testing?

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Not a great idea. The Trump administration is planning to end federal support for some coronavirus testing sites across the nation at the end of the month — including seven in Texas, where confirmed cases of COVID are spiking. An … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Once again, we wait for disaster relief funds

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

At least people know the drill by now. Five deaths are linked to floods from Tropical Storm Imelda, the worst storm in Texas since Hurricane Harvey and one of the wettest tropical cyclones in the nation’s history, according to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Once again, we wait for disaster relief funds

Some flood mitigation funds are coming

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded Houston its first grant aimed at mitigating flooding since Hurricane Harvey hit nearly two years ago, laying the groundwork for new gates on the Lake Houston dam and detention basins in Inwood … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Some flood mitigation funds are coming

More floodplain buyouts

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna keep seeing more of these. Fifteen months after Hurricane Harvey flooded more than 200,000 area homes and apartments, Harris County has begun purchasing homes in the floodplain using funds voters overwhelmingly approved in this summer’s $2.5 billion flood infrastructure … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on More floodplain buyouts

One year out from Harvey

Posted on August 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. One year after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas coast, 8 percent of the people impacted by the disaster have not been able to return to their … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on One year out from Harvey

A better match from FEMA

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Federal officials have agreed to count volunteer work hours and donated materials toward the local match required for disaster recovery grants to repair streets, buildings, utilities, parks and other public facilities — a national policy change, initiated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Council approves initial Harvey housing aid

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Houston City Council has approved a plan to direct how the first long-term federal housing aid headed this way after Hurricane Harvey will be spent, targeting $600 million to repair or build single-family homes and $375 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment