The 2020 Hurricane Season is officially under way today, Monday June 1, and runs through Monday, Nov. 30. And with tropical storms, heavy rains and high water levels already on the national and regional weather radars, Missouri City residents are urged to plan ahead to ensure they are prepared in the event a disturbance impacts our area.

“As we saw with Hurricane Harvey, planning and preparing before a storm strikes is essential for every resident, business and organization in the City,” said Mayor Yolanda Ford. “Citizens are encouraged to sign up for official City alerts and advisories on our emergency management communications outlets and to stock up their household emergency supply kits to ensure their families can endure several days without basic necessities if necessary.”

MCTX officials recommend that residents store the following items in their emergency supply kits:

Ø A three-day supply of non-perishable food, a manual can opener and one gallon of bottled water per person per day

Ø Coolers for food and ice storage

Ø Flashlights, a battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries

Ø Important documents and records, photo IDs, proof of residence, information to process insurance claims and cash

Ø Phone chargers and a power generator

Officials also recommend that residents follow the City’s official communications outlets for emergency updates and advisories. The channels include:

Ø www.MissouriCityReady.com: The site serves as a primary source of public information during any disaster affecting the City. The website offers tips and strategies for preparing homes, businesses and families for emergencies, links to websites of other emergency management agencies, weather, traffic and other emergency alerts and information on how to take care of special needs or pets during disasters. (Missouri City has communities in both Fort Bend and Harris Counties; residents who have a Houston address can also monitor: www.readyharris.org for updates.)

Ø www.MissouriCityTX.gov: On the home page, residents can view important notifications via the red emergency alert tabs at the top of the site, access missouricityready.com via the green “Emergency Preparedness” tab on the page, and view City news releases in the “Stay Informed” section of the page.

Ø MCTX Twitter accounts—Twitter.com/MissouriCityEM and Twitter.com/MissouriCityTX

Ø WQMN—1690 AM: The City’s radio station that broadcasts weather, road construction and emergency bulletins

Ø MCTV: Ch. 16 on Comcast; Ch. 99 on AT&T U-verse

Ø MCTX Facebook account—fb/MissouriCityTX

Ø MCTX Nextdoor account—City of Missouri City

Other helpful information for residents to remember includes:

Ø Fort Bend County is designated by the State as a pass-through county for evacuees who live along the Gulf Coast. In the event of an emergency, MCTX residents should monitor official City outlets for advisories on whether to evacuate or to shelter in place.

Ø The City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), located at Public Safety Headquarters on Cartwright Road, is equipped to coordinate the response and recovery efforts for any local emergency situation, including hurricanes.

“As this hurricane season begins, residents can rest assured that their City officials are ready to manage any crisis through the EOC,” Mayor Ford said. “Over the past year, City staff has been participating in emergency management training sessions so that we’re able to respond to every kind of disaster, including the COVID-19 crisis we are currently managing. Additionally, staff will participate in a virtual hurricane preparedness training workshop later this month and will continue to partner with the Fort Bend County and Harris County Offices of Emergency Management and other local and statewide agencies to coordinate response efforts for this season’s inclement weather.”