Weather/Emergency Information: Wildfires, Earthquakes, Floods & Winds
Rice, Houston-area, and Texas links for dealing with weather-related emergencies.
Attention
July 7, 2025: At the Governor’s direction, the following state emergency response resources remain available to support local emergency response efforts:
- Texas Division of Emergency Management: The State of Texas Incident Management Team to support deployed emergency response resources across the state, Incident Support Task Force and Disaster Recovery Task Force including Voluntary Agency Liaisons to support recovery efforts, regional field staff who remain tied in with local officials
- Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1, Texas Task Force 2, Texas A&M Task Force 3, and Texas A&M Public Works Response Team): Swiftwater Rescue Boat Squads and Floodwater Boat Squads to assist with flood rescues; Urban Search and Rescue Teams; K-9 support teams; personnel assessing public works infrastructure
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens, rescue boat teams, and helicopters with hoist capability supporting flood rescue operations
- Texas Department of Public Safety: Helicopters with hoist capabilities, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers, and the Tactical Marine Unit
- Texas National Guard: High profile vehicles to aid stranded motorists, Blackhawk helicopters with hoist capability to assist with flood rescues, Personnel to assist with damage assessments and shelter operations
- Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel monitoring road conditions
- Texas A&M Forest Service: Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Sid System strike teams assisting local fire departments and conducting damage assessments; saw crews to assist with clearing roadways
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents as well as County Extension Agents to support agricultural and livestock needs and assist with damage assessments
- Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordination with utility providers
- Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring
- Texas Department of State Health Services: Severe Weather Support Packages consisting of medics, ambulances, and all-terrain vehicles
- Texas Health and Human Services Commission: Personnel to provide information on available services through the 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network
- Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team: Veterinary medical support for animals impacted by flooding
- Texas Department of Agriculture: Coordination of agricultural disaster response and support for affected producers
- Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission: Assistance with law enforcement coordination and support
- Texas Department of Insurance: Providing guidance on flood-related insurance claims and support to affected policyholders
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation: Coordinating with regulated industries and licensed professionals involved in response and recovery operations.
- Texas Department of Information Resources: Monitoring technology infrastructure
- Lower Colorado River Authority: Monitoring river conditions, operating floodgates, and supporting regional flood response efforts.
Multi-Hazards
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Atlas of the Human Planet 2017: Global Exposure to Natural HazardsFree PDF from the EU Science Hub that summarizes the global multi-temporal analysis of exposure to six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, tropical cyclone winds, and sea level surge. The exposure focuses on human settlements assessed through two variables: the global built-up and the global resident population
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Are You Ready? GuidesFEMA website that provides in-depth information on specific hazards including what to do before, during and after each hazard type. The following hazards are covered: Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Lightning, Winter Storms and Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslide and Debris Flows (Mudslide), Tsunamis, Fires, Wildfires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Household Chemical Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant and Terrorism (including Explosion, Biological, Chemical, Nuclear and Radiological hazards).
Wildfires
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Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment PortalTexas Forest Service tool to help determine if your property is at risk from wildfires. The public viewer is available for all, but the professional viewer, fire occurrence explorer, and community editor require a rationale for access to view. The application supplies baseline information "to support mitigation and (fire) prevention efforts across the state."
Earthquakes
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Did You Feel It?/USGS Earthquake Hazards ProgramEarthquake maps from the U.S. and around the world, scientific data, FAQs, and archives.
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EarthquakesTopic page from the Homeland Security Digital Library that includes general documents, hearings, lessons learned, maps, organizations, preparedness plans and strategies, and websites.
Hurricane Wind Preparation
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Is Your Home Protected From Hurricane Disaster: A Homeowner's Guide to Hurricane RetrofitGuide from the Institute for Business and Home Safety covering retrofit ideas for the roof, wall openings (doors, windows, etc.) and the wall to foundation connection. Includes a checklist.
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Protection from Extreme WindTexas Tech's National Wind Institute's guide with wind protection ideas for the family, house, business, community, and school.
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FEMA Tips to Prepare Your Home for Hurricane SeasonEnglish Español Français Kreyòl Khmer 한국어 Tiếng Việt 简体中文
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Taking Shelter from the Storm, Building a Safe Room For Your Home or Small BusinessFEMA P-320 guide to help home or small business owners assess their risk and determine the best type of safe room for their needs.
Hurricanes and Winds
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Hell and High WaterSpecial project of the Texas Tribune and Pro Publica pairing "science journalism with cutting-edge technology and on-the-ground reporting to produce an immersive look at why the Texas coast isn’t ready for the next big hurricane."
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Hurricane Awareness (NOAA/ National Weather Center)Provides hurricane preparation guides and resources from NOAA's National Weather Service.
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National Hurricane Center (National Weather Service)Part of NOAA's National Weather Service, this site contains storm related information and posts advisories through the web page, podcasts, and mobile phones.
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Hurricanes (Homeland Security Digital Library)Hurricane topic page with general resources, hearings and testimonies, lessons learned, preparedness plans and strategies, reports, and websites.
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OnTheMap for Emergency Management: HurricanesContains characteristics of a local workforce affected by a hurricane including affected industries, ages of workers, and workers' earnings. Also includes historical data.
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Tornado SafetyNational Weather Service page with information about what to do before, during and after a tornado to stay safe.
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Disaster Preparedness Guidefrom Houston Office of Emergency Management
Floods
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Harris County Flood Control DistrictFind information about flooding and floodplains and programs to combat flooding.
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Harris County Flood Education Mapping ToolSearch by any address in Harris County to find out if it is near or in a floodplain.
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Harris County Floodplain Reference MarksThis on-line tool allows users to search by watershed, street address and other parameters to access information about specific numbered benchmarks. For each benchmark, the tool includes a description of its site location, plus a photograph and sketch of the site to help in locating the marker within the site.
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Harris County Flood Warning SystemUses data from rain gauges to provide a map with rainfall totals all around Houston.
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TexasFlood.orgMap provided by the Texas Water Development Board showing where flooding is occurring in the state of Texas in real time. See also TexMesonet for current weather conditions and rainfall.
Hurricane Harvey
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Harvey Crisis Response GuideCreated by Baker Botts, the Guide covers a broad variety of topics, such as how to file flood claims, renters’ rights, how to replace your passport and/or credit cards that may have been lost or damaged in the storm, information about schools and about small business administration loans, and tips to avoid home repair fraud. It also contains a broad list of other resources and includes contact information for them.
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Harvey Memories ProjectThe Harvey Memories Project is a community-driven digital memory bank created through a partnership between Rice University, Houston Public Library, Harris County Public Library, and the University of Houston Libraries.
The goal of the project is to help create a public archive of the memories of Hurricane Harvey’s effects on the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area and Texas at large. We collect, publish, and preserve images, videos, audio, and text-based stories that document people’s experience of Hurricane Harvey.
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