City News
HURRICANE HARVEY
Firefighters, police officers and public works helped citizens escape flooded homes and neighborhoods with impassible streets, and got them safely to shelters or into other forms of temporary housing. Since the storm hit Pearland, local government personnel have been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State to make sure taxpayer-funded facilities, equipment and roads are brought back to their pre-Harvey condition. City officials submitted a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) to FEMA immediately following the storm, paving the way to cover the costs of removing 55,000 cubic yards of debris from residential right-of-ways in the City, and that will help with the uninsured portions of costs to repair buildings and vehicles damaged by the storm. Pearland weathered Hurricane Harvey comparatively well. Although there were specific areas that had house flooding, which is very impactful to those properties, those areas, mostly built in the unincorporated county prior to being brought into the city. The City of Pearland weathered well, even with the incredibly large scale growth and development thanks to major public drainage improvements invested over the years and new construction that is permitted and inspected to the building and drainage code requirements.
After almost ten years without a major disaster hitting Pearland, Hurricane Harvey found its way to our community in late August of 2017. Category 4 hurricane force winds made landfall between Port Aransas and Port O’Conner, in Rockport, Texas, two days prior to shifting course towards the Houston metropolitan area. While the hurricane status of the storm had diminished, gale force winds and 50 inches of torrential rainfall made their way to Pearland, causing substantial damage to more than 1,400 homes, 20 or more City-owned buildings and countless cars and trucks owned by area residents. Over 50 vehicles in the City’s fleet were damaged, but nothing like the loss of cars and trucks Pearland residents incurred. Flooding affected the Twin Creek area of town the most, but the amazing volunteerism of the people of Pearland, coupled with Pearland’s well-equipped local government disaster management, helped all of those in harm’s way avoid loss of life or major personal injuries. The City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated shortly after Mayor Tom Reid issued the City’s official Disaster Proclamation on August 24, and the local Incident Command Structure (ICS) quickly became operational in an effort to initiate the emergency coordination, safety, volunteer, public communications, and resource management priorities needed to protect the community.
Debris Pick Up Contractor Pearland Public Works
TXDOT
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Pearland in Motion Summer 2018 Issue
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