CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Hurricane season is here.
Most Coastal Bend residents know what kind of destruction a hurricane can cause. That’s why we must do everything we can to prepare.
We cannot control Mother Nature which is why it is important to make sure you know what to do before a storm strikes.
Crews with AEP Texas practice to make sure everyone knows their role during a disaster to make sure people are without power for as short a time as possible.
“So what we do is train all year long and we are ready for it,” AEP spokesman Omar Lopez said. “We also participate in something called mutual assistance, so if there is a natural disaster or a storm in another state sometimes our crews go there to help restore power for their costumers and in turn many times during a hurricane crews come here.
“We welcome them with open arms because that's what is going to take to get power back up and running for a city if we were to lose power on a large scale during a hurricane.”
A tropical system starts to weaken when it hits land.
The damage caused by a storm will depend on its intensity and where your location is with respect to the center of circulation.
With Hurricane Harvey, we saw several downed powerlines all over the Coastal Bend.
Here is some advice on what do after the storm makes landfall.
“After a storm we going to ask everyone to stay safe,” Lopez said. “Safety is the first priority, watch children, watch pets.
“If you see a downed powerline it might be energized, assume its energized, stay away and report it immediately. You can report it at AEPTexas.com you can report it using your telephone. Now during a power outage we always ask people to prepare for a hurricane. Build an emergency kit.”
