The Harris County, Texas, Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) has released its Hurricane Harvey After Action Report (AAR), which reviews the county’s overall response efforts.
According to the report, the overall response and recovery efforts by HCOHSEM and its partners demonstrated professional and well-practiced levels of planning, coordination and collaboration. Some of the major strengths highlighted were pre-positioning county, state, and federal assets enabled quick deployment, pairing civilians and resources with skilled professionals to assist with rescue operations, utilization of First Contact Program to provide immediate essentials and support from regional public safety information officers in the Regional Joint Information Center.
The report also made some recommendations for improvement, which include developing a countywide Continuity Of Operations Plan, training non-traditional support personnel who may be involved in disaster response operations, transitioning from response to recovery operations in the Emergency Operations Center and working with the City of Houston to address the current Donations Management strategy.
The AAR was created with the input and collaboration of numerous local, state, federal, private and non-profits organizations.
“Planning and practice pay off, but real events show how ready we truly are,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “Hurricane Harvey’s test of our emergency response highlighted remarkable successes and areas for improvement. Applying those lessons will certainly make us better prepared for the next disaster.”
See the full AAR here