AUSTIN, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott has announced that he has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of severe weather that will likely impact parts of Texas this weekend.
A system capable of producing large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain, and potential flash flooding is expected to hit parts of Central Texas and the Hill Country Saturday, and possibly shift to South Texas Sunday.
Abbott announced the move in a press release sent out Saturday afternoon. In a statement, the governor said the state is full prepared to respond to any threat caused by the storms.
“The State of Texas is ready to respond to severe storms expected in Central and South Texas today and in the coming days,” said Abbott.
"As we monitor the development of anticipated storms, state and local emergency response personnel are on standby to help support Texas communities throughout the storms. I urge Texans in these regions to remain weather-aware and heed the guidance of local emergency response personnel to keep themselves, their loved ones, and their property safe."
The following response operations have been either been activated or put on standby by TDEM:
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1): Urban search and rescue teams, swiftwater boat squads
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas Task Force 2): Urban search and rescue teams, swiftwater boat squads
- Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw crews, Incident Management Teams
- Texas Department of Transportation: Monitoring road conditions
- Texas Department of Public Safety: Helicopters with hoist capability, Texas Highway Patrol 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 Department of State Health Services: Texas Emergency Medical Task Force severe weather packages
- Texas Division of Emergency Management: Disaster Recovery Task Force and state mass care coordination
