SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – Emergency responders from across the Rio Grande Valley aren’t taking the lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey lightly.

The group met Thursday to review their plans of action in case of a disaster here at home.

Cameron County Emergency Manager Tom Hushen said now is the time to think about things like managing debris after a natural disaster and making sure there are contracts in place for those services.

He said there’s also work to be done to improve evacuation routes and medical services, as well as helping people understand what they need to know if they sign up for evacuation assistance.

“A lot of people register for 211 about their evacuation, but they don't understand what they're registering for, they don't understand what the time frames are to be able to evacuate, they don't understand what that means when you register,” he said. 

Hushen said people who are currently registered with the 211 system, will be getting calls from emergency management staff to better educate them on what they need to do to get help evacuating.

They’ll also be reviewing plans for emergency shelter operations.