SAN ANTONIO — With portions of South Texas now within the forecast cone of Tropical Storm Beryl, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an advisory notice to the 39 Texas Emergency Management Council Agencies to prepare to support hurricane response and recovery.
While it's still unclear what the storm's impact on the state will be, the governor said in a statement Tuesday that “Texas stands ready.”
The Salvation Army is one of those 39 agencies the governor cited. Brad Mayhar, spokesperson for Salvation Army San Antonio, said a command center will be set up in the Alamo City if the storm does make landfall in Texas. (As of Friday afternoon, that's most likely to happen between South Padre Island and Corpus Christi early Monday morning.)
“All of us are really at a wait-and-see situation right now,” Mayhar said.
Mayhar said they have mobile units or food trucks ready to be deployed.
“We can prepare warm meals on the spot and we’re able to serve hundreds of meals at a time,” he said.
Salvation Army San Antonio's goal is to have boots on the ground within 24 hours of landfall. But it's not just hot meals they would distribute; Mayhar said they also have cleanup kits for people dealing with storm damage.
“Things like cleaning supplies, chemicals, mops and brooms, gloves, masks so they can take the precautions they need to as safely as possible so they can get back in their homes,” Mayhar said.
He said it's all made possible by donations from the community. He said the best way to help is to give online.
“By doing those financial donations, we can purchase those items that are needed,” Mayhar said.
Other organizations like the Red Cross said they are also ready to assist where its needed, including outside the U.S. They are asking for volunteers; visit redcross.org/volunteertoday if you are interested in pitching in.
'A critical city'
If needed, the city and county could utilize the Emergency Operations Center at Brooks. This would allow them to better coordinate resources, especially if people are having to evacuate to San Antonio, which plays a vital role for the American Red Cross when a major disaster strikes Texas.
As Beryl approaches, the organization is in all-hands-on-deck mode.
"San Antonio is a critical city in the State of Texas," said Dr. Daniel Martinez, executive director for the Greater San Antonio Chapter of the Red Cross.
Martinez says that, heading into the weekend, all central operations preparing for Tropical Storm Beryl – which is expected to regain hurricane status before making landfall in Texas early Monday morning – are headquartered in the Alamo City. That means 270 volunteers have come in from all over the country, ready to respond upon Beryl's arrival.
The Red Cross also prepares for logistical responses and emergency management.
"I'm working with our elected officials and other community leaders on preparing for emergency shelters and evacuation sites," Martinez said.
According to Martinez, it's San Antonio's infrastructure, mutual agreements with other cities to support evacuation routes, emergency responses and preparedness that makes it important in times like these.
By the end of the day Friday, 30 emergency response vehicles, plus trailers, from across the U.S. will have deployed to San Antonio.
"They'll be waiting so that if we need to response in the Gulf Coast anywhere, they can drive out there," Martinez added. "Each trailer is already preloaded to open up a shelter (to accommodate) up to 500 individuals."
The organization is also ready to response with all kinds of kits to meet hygiene, comfort, clean-up and water damage needs.
Ninety percent of the Red Cross workforce are volunteers, but more are needed. Martinez says they can't fulfill their mission without them.
To find out how you can help, download the American Red Cross app or click here.