🌀 Hurricane Season is Coming — Are You Ready?
For residents of Polk County, especially those near Lake Livingston and in towns like Onalaska, hurricane season isn’t just a Gulf Coast issue — it’s a real, inland threat. Though we’re about 100 miles from the coast, hurricanes can still bring devastating winds, floods, and power outages that linger for days.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30.
Here’s what you need to do now — not when the warning sirens go off.
📦 Emergency Supplies Checklist
Every Polk County household should have a hurricane readiness kit, including:
- Flashlights + extra batteries
- Portable phone charger / power bank
- NOAA weather radio or hand-crank radio
- Non-perishable food and water (3+ days per person)
- First-aid kit + medications
- Copies of insurance, ID, and important documents
- Cash (ATMs often go down)
- Pet supplies if you have animals
- Fuel (gas pumps may lose power)
🔗 Full Emergency Supply List from Ready.gov
🌪️ Know Your Evacuation Zone
While many Onalaska residents don’t face forced evacuations, those living in RV parks, low-lying lakefront homes, and mobile structures should evacuate early.
The key risk factors are:
- Flooding from sustained rain (especially in the Lake Livingston Village and Scenic Loop areas)
- Falling trees and debris in wooded neighborhoods
- Isolated roads like FM 356 and FM 2457 that often get blocked or washed out
🔗 Check your evacuation route via TxDOT
🏠 Local Shelters & Emergency Contacts
As of last reporting, local shelters may include:
- Livingston High School
- First United Methodist Church in Livingston
- Polk County Commerce Center
But shelter locations can change each year depending on the storm and COVID protocols.
🧭 Check for Polk County shelter updates here:
🔗 Polk County Office of Emergency Management
📱 Best Sources for Live Alerts
- Nixle Alerts: Local law enforcement and emergency info
🔗 Sign up at Nixle.com - Polk County OEM Facebook Page: The county’s most updated real-time channel
🔗 Polk County Emergency Management - Texas Emergency Portal
🔗 https://tdem.texas.gov
⚡ Power, Water & Communications
After Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Harvey, Polk County experienced:
- Multi-day power outages
- Downed cell towers
- Boil water notices in rural areas
Locals have started turning to ham radios, CBs, and solar-powered comms gear for backup.
More on that in our next article.
💬 Final Thought
You don’t have to panic. You just have to prepare.
Hurricanes might not hit Polk County directly, but tropical storms, floods, and tornadoes spun off from coastal landfall are enough to knock out power, water, and road access for days.
The best time to get ready is now — before the first named storm shows up on radar.
