Prepare

ESSCAB Sections

Austin, Texas, US

As example of local government resources.

Hazard Risk Index

austintexas.gov/department/homeland-security-and-emergency-management/risk-index

“The City of Austin Hazard Mitigation Plan identified and assessed the potential impact of natural and man-made hazards that threaten the City of Austin. Hazards were identified based upon a review of historical records, national data sources, existing plans and reports, and discussions with local, regional, and national experts. For additional resources or to request a preparedness presentation, visit the Materials and Disaster Ready Austin sections of this website.

The hazards were then prioritized based on potential damages in terms of lives lost, dollar losses, and other community factors. In order of priority, they are:”

  1. Flooding
  2. Wildfire
  3. Hail
  4. Pandemic
  5. Tornado
  6. Hazardous Material
  7. Pipeline
  8. Hurricane
  9. Winter Storm
  10. Terrorism
  11. Drought
  12. Thunderstorm and Lightning
  13. Extreme Heat
  14. Dam Failure”

(Numbered here, not in original material.)

Your Own Personalized Hazard Risk Review

By ESSCAB: Take a list – local for your area and situation, add and subtract, make notes on what applies, how well prepared, et c. For instance something like:

City Risk Index Own Own Risk Index Notes Mitigation Notes Need
Work
1. Flooding 4 House on high ground, not in flooding area. None No
2. Wildfire 4 Within city with fire station nearby, hydrant nearby. None No
3. Hail 1 High risk alright, get hail storms once or more every year. No special, aside bring things inside as applicable. No
4. Pandemic 3 Well, yeah… Flu and corona strikes everywhere No special, aside getting vaccines as available. No
5. Tornado 2 High risk, less than Dallas and North Texas but we can get quite serious winds around here as well. For discussion! TBD
6. Hazardous Material 3 Could happen, considering I-35 on less than two miles bird distance. No special, as this time. No
7. Pipeline 5 Not for us, no Pipeline around. None No
8. Hurricane 2 Similar to 5. Tornado – coming up from the gulf. See Tornado. TBD
9. Winter Storm 3 It sure happens! A bit Work-in-Progress. HVAC WIP
10. Terrorism 4 Deem it rather low risk. None, now. No
11. Drought 3 Maybe not Drought per se but certainly getting under water preservation notice, every year. Continue to be a good citizen and conserve use. No
12. Thunderstorm and Lightning 1 Oh yes, every year, multiple times. For review, how well we are prepared. TBD
13. Extreme Heat 1 Oh yes, every year, from kind of like Junish to Octoberish, peaks July-Sept. For discussion, improvement plan. HVAC WIP
14. Dam Failure 5 Not for us, no Dam around. None No

For Own Index (of risk), using a 5-level scale

  1. Top risk (of happening), for us at our home
  2. High risk, on a scale of 1-5, maybe not as high risk of REALLY happening but in case it happens, would be really, really, bad for us… (as IS at number 5 on City’s own risk index list).
  3. Medium risk, on the scale of 1-5
  4. Low risk, could happen but less likely
  5. Lowest, essentially not applicable for us.