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Flooding from Recent Rain Storm

June 5, 2019

Fort Bend County Homeland Security & Emergency Management is monitoring the rainfall today and has heard reports of road closures and isolated structural flooding in portions of the County near Kendleton and Needville.

The National Weather Service issued a Flood Advisory for western portion of the County this morning due to heavy rainfall. There is also a Flood Warning along San Bernard River due to heavy rainfall amounts causing very rapid rises in river levels. The Flood Warning for the entire region continues through tonight.

Residents should report damage on our website via the “Report your Damage” page on the HS&EM website: https://fbcoem.org/report-damage/

Drainage and Rivers

The San Bernard River is rising and the office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management is monitoring with the Fort Bend County Drainage District. Over six inches of rain fell last night along the western border of the County, and the river has risen by almost nine feet over the past four hours. The Brazos River is high but well within it’s banks. Unless the situation changes dramatically, we are not expecting any river impacts along the Brazos at this time. Isolated areas may continue to see drainage systems overwhelmed and see some flash flooding.

Tierra Grande

The San Bernard river is rising near East Bernard and Boling river gauges. National Weather Service forecasts for over 40 feet in Boling on the afternoon of June 6, which would be significantly higher than last month’s crest. The low-water crossing into the Tierra Grande subdivision will probably flood later today, June 5. The Fort Bend County Emergency Operations Center is watching the river, you should too. Check on family and friends. Take action, stay safe.

More information about the rivers in the County can be found here: https://fbcoem.org/fort-bend-county-waterways-rivers/

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Fort Bend County Homeland Security & Emergency Management will continue posting updates here and on our Twitter and Facebook pages throughout the day. Please follow, like, and subscribe and share our posts to help spread the word!

Fort Bend County Emergency Operations Center Moves to Level III – Increased Readiness

May 11, 2019

Fort Bend County, Texas – On Monday, May 6, 2019, a rain system moved over Fort Bend County, leading to Flash Flood Warnings as the Brazos River began to rise. On Tuesday, rainfall rates began to exceed forecast levels, so the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) moved to Readiness Level III (Increased Readiness), and issued a county Disaster Declaration in anticipation of continued heavy rainfall throughout the week. By Wednesday morning, flooding had occurred in low-lying areas of the county.

On Thursday, after monitoring weather conditions and river level projections, the County increased operations to Readiness Level II (Escalated Response Conditions). By Friday, May 10, over 12 inches of rain had fallen in Fort Bend County. Several roads and schools closed within the county. The Brazos River crested Friday near 48 feet, and the San Bernard River is still experiencing moderate flooding.

On Saturday afternoon, conditions had improved sufficiently to allow the Emergency Operations Center to return to Readiness Level III and demobilize additional resources in the Joint Information Center. Fort Bend County Homeland Security & Emergency Management staff will continue to monitor weather and river conditions throughout the weekend and keep county residents updated on any new developments.

If you have suffered any impacts from this storm system, see our page on Immediate Disaster Recovery on the Fort Bend County Homeland Security & Emergency Management website: https://fbcoem.org/recover/.

Heavy rainfall likely tonight

May 9, 2019

Heavy rainfall is forecast for tonight. Stay put and avoid unnecessary travel. If you do get out, slow down and use caution when approaching low lying areas like underpasses and always check for road closures before you travel. #knowbeforeyougo

Se pronostica lluvia fuerte esta noche. Mantente alerta y evita viajes innecesarios. Si sales de tu casa, baja la velocidad y ten precaución cuando estés cerca de zonas bajas como pasos subterráneos de las autopistas y siempre revisa los cierres de carreteras antes de viajar.

Fort Bend County Issues Disaster Declaration

May 7, 2019

Fort Bend County judge KP George has issued a Disaster Declaration for flash flooding and potential Brazos River

flooding. A disaster declaration authorizes the County to take certain response and recovery actions, and is the first step which can ultimately result in State or Federal declarations.

“Our residents need to understand that this is a serious threat,” says Fort Bend County Judge KP George, “this flash flooding tonight is contributing to the Brazos River levels, which still pose a threat later this week. We are not out of the woods yet.”

The Fort Bend County EOC is monitoring the situation carefully and coordinating and assisting response operations.

For more information about the flooding incident this week, keep checking this website for the County’s official updates, and the HS&EM Facebook and Twitter pages. Officials at the EOC strive to provide you with the most official and accurate information.

Brazos River levels rising, Homeland Security & Emergency Management Monitoring this Week

May 6, 2019

Fort Bend County officials are closely monitoring the Brazos River forecast this week. Heavy rainfall upstream in the river’s watershed last week is sending a lot of water our way. The upstream reservoirs are not releasing and are holding back a lot of water; the reservoirs are doing their job and we’re glad they’re there!

hydrograph showing forecast Brazos river crest on Friday, may 10, of 47 feet.

The current forecast is for the river to reach similar levels to this January at the end of the week. From ongoing discussions with our partners today, Homeland Security & Emergency Management does not anticipate significant impacts to the County at this time. The forecast rain early in the week is not expected to significantly raise river levels, while rain later in the week could if too much of falls in the wrong areas. At this time there is too much uncertainty in the forecast to say for sure what any late-week rain impacts will be, but we will continue monitoring and coordinating and will update you as any significant actions occur.

pivotalweather map showing forecast presipitation this week, with 5-8 inches in immediate Brazos river watershed

Thank you Eric Berger: Space City Weather for the graphic showing 7-day rainfall forecasts, for more info about the forecast, read their excellent post: https://spacecityweather.com/yeah-we-have-concerns-about-heavy-rainfall-this-week/

You can monitor the rivers from the Fort Bend County Homeland Security & Emergency Management Rivers webpage.

Fort Bend County HS&EM participates in Technology Exercise

March 29, 2019

This week Fort Bend County participated in the Texas A&M Winter Institute exercise, with many public and private partners testing technology in a series of hyper-realistic disaster scenarios at Disaster City and other locations around College Station, Texas.
Fort Bend County provided expertise, simulating the Emergency Operations Center in a widespread earthquake on the Texas coast. Assets deployed to gain situational awareness and perform tactical operations ranged from human search and rescue (SAR) professionals and dogs to ground, marine, and aerial robots.
A member of our team participated in a panel discussion titled “Information sharing in large disasters, what is the promised land and how do we get there.” Panelists included representatives from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Texas Parks and Wildlife.

We’re excited at the opportunity to learn from our public and private sector partners, and to interface directly with graduate students on emerging technologies that can help us reduce the impact of disasters on our communities in Fort Bend County.