AUSTIN (KXAN) – Ahead of the storm moving through parts of Texas Wednesday through Thursday evening, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to prepare state emergency response resources.

“This storm system is expected to bring an increased risk of severe weather, including damaging winds, large hail, tornados, heavy rain, and potential flash flooding,” Abbott said.

TDEM has activated the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Urban Search and Rescue Teams.
 
According to a release, TDEM also has the following state resources on standby:

  • Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw Crews and Incident Management Teams
  • Texas Department of State Health Services: Texas Emergency Medical Task Force Severe Weather Packages
  • Texas Department of Transportation: Monitoring road conditions
  • Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas Highway Patrol): Search and Rescue Aircraft with hoist capability; Tactical Marine Unit 
  • Texas National Guard: High-profile vehicle platoons 
  • Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Game wardens and boat teams
  • Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordinating with utility providers in the threat area
  • Texas Commission on Environmental Qualify: Air/water/wastewater monitoring 
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents
  • Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service: Texas A&M Public Works Response Team
  • Texas Division of Emergency Management: Disaster Recovery Task Force and state mass care coordination

“Texans across the state should remain weather-aware as this severe storm system moves across portions of Texas this week,” Abbott said. “The State of Texas is fully prepared to assist local officials and emergency response personnel on the ground to keep our communities safe. We remain on standby to provide any additional resources that may be necessary over the course of this storm.”

According to a release, TDEM alerted members of the Texas Emergency Management Council to be prepared to support response and recovery operations across the state.

Texans were urged to take severe weather safety preparedness measures, such as monitoring local weather forecasts, making an emergency plan and heeding warnings of local officials, according to the office of the Governor.