2021 Was a Year Filled With Emergencies
2021 was another banner year for Emergency Management, both locally and Statewide. Hopes for a quiet year were quickly dispelled as the February 2021 freeze, later named Winter Storm Uri became the most widespread and costly disaster in Texas history. Every county in Texas was affected, and many lessons were learned. In Fayette County, groups and individuals banded together to help their neighbors in mighty ways. Some nursing homes were without water for over a week, but citizens brought their own water trailers, fire departments filled barrels containers, and local businesses provided all of the bottled water that they had to get through the crisis. The Texas Military Division flew water and MRE’s in on helicopters, and the La Grange Airport was a distribution point for citizens that needed nourishment. Through the efforts we established a more formalized network of incident command that includes community organization and volunteer groups in every phase of the process.
The COVID-19 crisis continued to cause illness and death through 2021 despite massive efforts on the part of our local healthcare providers to do everything in their power to protect our most vulnerable citizens. In cooperation with our local providers, and state military officials, we hosted massive vaccination events and testing events. Later, we initiated the first Texas rural at-home testing and vaccination efforts for the elderly in who could not travel to the large events. The medical supply distribution to clinics and nursing homes continued in 2021 as well. Spring/Summer 2021 brought more “100 year-500 year” flood events and caused more damage to already water-logged areas. We have now learned to plan for century events as if they will happen annually.
Planning for the next disaster was a hallmark of the year. With the assistance of some very talented interns, and 50+ community stakeholders, we revamped our Emergency Management Plans, Annexes, and a comprehensive needs analysis that will be the foundation for our 2022 Hazard Mitigation Plan.
For 2022, the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will prepare for the worst, and pray for the best. We will also be expanding our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and welcome any citizen that is interested in volunteering to register for the no-cost training and help serve your community. Email craig.moreau@co.fayette.tx.us to join the team.