SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants residents to answer questions about their experiences during recent storms and natural disasters.
Data collected from the online survey will help officials construct a new hazard mitigation plan.
The state requires county emergency managers to conduct this risk assessment every five years.
"One thing that may be important five years ago may be completely different his year," said Michael Morlan, deputy chief for the Bexar County OEM. "The climate is always changing."
Bexar County data analysts seek to determine what hazards exist, how often they occur, and how expensive hazard-related damage has been.
They'll use weather data, models, and even insurance claims to rank certain threats. Extreme heat, drought, and flooding currently pose the greatest risk to Bexar County residents, according to the most recent assessment.
Morlan says he expects to expand the county's winter storm strategy, based on residents' survey responses.
Collected data help inform mitigation measures. For example, the OEM may use brush fire records to determine where firefighters should stage controlled burns.
The Bexar County department also uses flood data to place high-water sensors and floodgates that comprise the HALT system.
Drainage patterns, in particular, change as the city grows. Rainwater flows more easily over concrete, whereas undeveloped land absorbs precipitation.
The risk assessment also helps bolster applications for grants. Bexar County municipalities can use the data to demonstrate need for funding, tools, or technologies.
"We're constantly evolving," Morlan said. "We exercise our plan, then we find deficiencies, and then we make those changes."