Hurricane IKE

HDHHS
Lessons Learned
 Preparedness Phase
 Prepare HDHHS staff and facilities for IKE
landfall
 Disseminate pertinent weather information to
Assistant Directors and ICS staff
 Provide emergency preparedness information to staff
 Protect HDHHS facilities from storm damage
 Prepare ICS staff and DOC for 24 hour operations
 Review Departmental SOP’s, SOG’s, and COOP
 Provide logistics support for HDHHS DOC activation
 Preparedness Discussion
 Disseminating preparedness information
 Level of staff preparedness
 COOP plans
 Staff Functions
 Preparedness Recommendations
 Ensure staff is personally prepared with at least
a 3 day kit
 Develop COOP plans that will serve as the
HDHHS emergency plan
 Develop essential staffing list for every Bureau
to ensure they can continue essential functions
 Response Phase
 Return all HDHHS essential services to full operations
 Provide basic human needs support services, environmental and
communicable disease prevention and control services at the
George R. Brown (GRB) MSN shelter and Auchan/Red Cross
Shelter
 Perform Community Health Assessments (CHATS) in the areas
most impacted by the hurricane, and respond to the basic and
immediate human needs of people living in those areas.
 Respond to situations regarding potentially unsafe or unhealthy
living conditions initiated by HEC or HDHHS field teams within 48
hours.
 Stand up and operate Comfort Stations and Hurricane Ike
information centers.
 Response Discussion
 HDHHS Headquarters remained on generator status for 2 weeks following
IKE
 Development of MSN shelter plan
 CHATS teams delayed because of lack of information about the hardest hit
areas
 Environmental division had difficulty responding to all inquiries as their staff
was responding to potential hazardous situations across the Houston area.
 Basic human needs such as food, water, ice and information were not easy
to locate or provide
 Lack of supportive services to assist residents with longer term housing
transitions (transportation, longer term food insecurity, down payment
assistance for utilities, etc.)
 Response Recommendations
 Ensure that HDHHS Headquarters at 8000 N. Stadium Drive and
HDHHS facilities are placed on the CenterPoint priority re-connect
list
 Develop a COH shelter plan prior to the next incident
 Improve coordination and communication at the EOC between
HDHHS and other Departments with information about the areas
hardest hit.
 Train HDHHS staff to conduct cursory environmental inspections to
expedite the process of returning citizens to their homes
 Determine the functionality of a Comfort Station before the next
event.
 Engage other COH departments as appropriate to help transition
shelter residents to temporary or permanent housing. Develop a
COH shelter plan prior to the next incident