Sugar Land Emergency Management Highlights

Our Staff

Patrick Hughes
Emergency Management Coordinator

Michael Clanton
Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator

Gloria Walker
Administrative Assistant

Community Emergency Response Teams

The Sugar Land Fire Department's Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) respond to emergencies within neighborhoods.

New CERT class starting Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - Interested?

View the CERT Training Calendar Register Now - Online registration

Request Information -
Phone: (281) 275-2805
E-mail: CERT

 Sign up for CERT e-mail updates

Utilizing training provided by members of the Sugar Land Fire and Police Departments and coordinated with the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management, Sugar Land's CERT teams will support first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims and organize volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members will also assist with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.

Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members will be able to assist others in their neighborhoods or workplaces following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

Sugar Land Emergency Amateur Radio Operators Group

The City of Sugar Land - Office of Emergency Management is looking for Amateur Radio Operators to help man the Sugar Land Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and other strategic locations within the City of Sugar Land.

The City of Sugar Land EOC currently has amateur radios installed that can operate on the VHF/UHF bands (2 meter and 70 cm) and the HF bands (80-10 meter), but the radios need operators to be able to handle messages to and from the EOC and strategic locations in and around the city, the Fort Bend EOC, the Harris Co/Houston EOC's, etc.

The Sugar Land Emergency Management Radio Operators Group (SL-EMROG) is an opportunity for trained Amateur Radio operators that live or work in the City of Sugar Land to provide the community with Emergency Communications during periods of time when the normal means of communications have been disrupted due to overload or damage.

For those that are already licensed Amateur Radio Operators and are interested in signing up to work with the City of Sugar Land - Office of Emergency Management, please contact the office of Emergency Management via email or by phone at 281.275.2860 or fill-in the EOC Amateur Radio Operator Application and mail it in.

For those that are interested in becoming amateur radio operators the following resources are available:

•  ARRL, the Amateur Radio Relay League
•  BVARC, the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club

In conjunction with all City departments, the Sugar Land Office of Emergency Management has taken steps to ensure the highest level of preparedness for all citizens of the city of Sugar Land and its employees:

• The city continually reviews emergency operations plans and takes steps to ensure all City employees understand their specific roles and responsibilities relative to an emergency.
• The Office of Emergency Management conducts exercises that include all City departments to test the preparedness level of the City. Exercises have included a hurricane event and hazardous material scenarios as well as testing the activation of the City's Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
• Sugar Land is involved in the statewide All-Hazards Incident Management Team (AHIMT) process, training City employees to manage emergency situations. More than 20 employees from various departments have received intensive, week-long training required for AHIMT certification.
• Steps are also taken to ensure City facilities and vehicles are working at full capacity, delivering the highest level of service to protect our citizens in case of any emergency.

Evacuation Information

The term “RUN FROM THE WATER, HIDE FROM THE WIND” describes the simple actions to protect families from the affects of a hurricane including high winds, storm surge, heavy rains and tornados. Areas close to the Gulf Coast are categorized as evacuation zones.

The Sugar Land area is not subject to the affects of storm surge and is not included in an evacuation zone. Hurricanes would not normally result in an evacuation for residents of Sugar Land and Fort Bend County. However, the threatened landfall of a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane may result in the need to evacuate Sugar Land.

Emergency Brochure (pdf): A comprehensive preparedness guide

Evacuation Routes

State Highway 6, U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 90A are designated as hurricane evacuation routes. During an evacuation, coastal residents from Galveston and Brazoria Counties will travel through Fort Bend County and Sugar Land. Local residents are urged to avoid these roadways during a period of evacuation. Many intersections will be blocked and lights will be set to allow traffic to move away from the coast. The Texas Department of Transportation will “contra-flow” many highways to handle the increase in traffic moving inland. The state plan also calls for additional fuel, water and food to be made available along evacuation routes.

Evacuation Assistance

Many individuals may not have access to vehicles or transportation to evacuate. Persons that need special assistance to evacuate should contact the Sugar Land Office of Emergency Management at (281) 275-2860 or (281) 275-2864 to participate in the Special Needs Registration process.

Shelters

Hurricane shelters are not normally opened in Sugar Land or Fort Bend County. Few buildings in the area are designed to withstand the winds associated with a category 4 or 5 Hurricane. Should an evacuation be called for Sugar Land, residents should move inland and not rely on suitable shelters in the immediate area. The location of shelters will be announced in the media, with certain zones directed to specific inland shelters and special need residents bussed to designated shelters.