Cameron County officials focus on hurricane evacuations in emergency preparedness meeting
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Cameron County emergency managers are looking to learn from Hurricane Ian after it slammed into Florida last month as a major Category 4 hurricane.
Leaders met Friday with local law enforcement and state officials for their final emergency preparedness meeting for the year at the Harlingen Community Center.
The key takeaway from Hurricane Ian, according to officials, is to get out before a major storm hits.
“We know now that the evacuation needs to be done early,” Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Hushen said. “If you wait, 12 hours, 24 hours, you're talking a lot of people are going to be waiting."
Hushen says safety precautions for every storm in the gulf with its eye set on the Valley needs to be taken seriously.
People in the storm zone need to leave three days prior before mandatory evacuations take place to avoid congested highways and longer evacuation times, Hushen said.
“[They’re] all trying to get out on two main arteries, it's going to be difficult,” Hushen said. “So, that's why we're always telling people, ‘if you don't feel safe, you need to leave early. Don't wait for somebody to tell you.’"
The evacuations procedures will always start with South Padre Island and work its way up the Valley. Hushen said. People need to be mindful of the storm surge whether a storm is categorized or not, Hushen added.
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