MidCoast Hurricane Conference Slated For April 26th

There has been much reported recently about tornadic activity, mainly to our north, but, we should never forget we are susceptible to not only tornadoes, but hurricanes in this part of Texas, not to mention wildfires and other natural disasters.

The annual MidCoast Hurricane Conference is taking a broader approach to dealing with all kinds of disasters. Three tracks each with four distinct sessions and two general sessions are available for not only first responders, but also business owners and homeowners.

The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 26 at the Victoria Community Center. Pre-registration deadline is Friday.

"We went from four separate speaking sessions to 12," said John Johnston, vice-chairman of the board of the Crossroads Chapter of the American Red Cross, who served on the conference planning committee. Johnson told the Victoria Advocate, "This year the committee decided we would do something more diverse. "We wanted to include the business community, homeowners and other citizens, so we could target those groups with some training on preparedness, recovery from disaster and general disaster awareness.

"The conference has always focused on hurricanes, but this last summer with all the house fires and wildfires, the committee decided to transition into an all-disaster type conference, never forgetting the intent of why we developed at first." That diversity includes the keynote presentation by Trey Duhon, Waller County public information officer. "We thought it would be interesting to hear how other communities are using social media to get the word out during a disaster," Johnston said. "They used it to let people know what areas were closed, when they re-opened and what resources were needed where. It should be an interesting session." The Duhons will speak during the barbecue lunch session, scheduled for 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. The final session of the day will also include all track attendees as John Metz of the National Weather Service will give his annual report.