At the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season and weeks after Hurricane Beryl wreaked havoc on the coast, it only took a few hours for state and county officials to deploy emergency plans and resources ahead of Tropical Storm Francine.
Just hours after the National Weather Service first announced the system’s potential path in the Gulf, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appeared to be at the forefront of storm preparedness, and CenterPoint Energy deployed a storm response action plan.
And that was before the disorganized system was even declared a tropical storm. The trajectory of Francine has made an eastward shift since its initial track – prompting some officials to console coastal Texans even with the storm seemingly headed to Louisiana and glancing by Texas.
“I know that many people in Harris County are worried about Tropical Storm Francine, especially with some of us still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Beryl,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement Monday afternoon.
The county’s emergency management office is activated and monitoring the storm, she said, despite the storm shifting to a path that likely won’t impact Houston.
“We will remain vigilant because it’s our job, but I want to make very clear to the community that this is not Hurricane Beryl, and the storm is not directly heading our way,” Hidalgo said.
RELATED: Tropical Storm Francine forms in Gulf of Mexico; Houston region and Texas officials preparing
But the condition of the state’s preparedness ahead of natural disasters remains in question after Hurricane Beryl left Houstonians in fear of the next storm and the ability of the city’s infrastructure to manage flooding.
Beryl flew over Houston in a matter of a few hours— knocking the lights out for more than 2 million CenterPoint customers, leaving some city streets underwater and bayous overflowing for nearly two days. At least 38 people died from hurricane-related circumstances during the storm. But the effects of the storm remained lingering.
Houston Councilman Edward Pollard in July asserted the city “did not do all that [it] can do” ahead of Beryl.
“From a city standpoint, we were not fully mobilized,” Pollard said. “From a CenterPoint standpoint, we were not fully mobilized. We were scrambling after the fact and the city felt it.”
In response, Mayor John Whitmire said the city was “more prepared than ever” for Beryl. Any other claims were “dishonest or misinformed or both,” he said.
RELATED: Houston "better prepared than ever" for Hurricane Beryl, mayor says
This time around, state and local officials don’t want to be caught flat-footed in the wake of another potentially devastating storm, Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston said.
“For Texas to crumble under these weather emergencies would certainly hurt the state’s brand,” he said.
In July, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick played the role of acting governor over the brunt of Beryl— taking on the state’s top position during the Category 1 storm that killed more than 35 people.
And when it comes to storm preparedness, Rottinghaus said, Texans, at the very least, expect their elected officials to be in town and prepared for any potential storm to hit.
Abbott was on a business trip in Asia when Beryl touched down. He was criticized for not cutting his trip short. U.S. Sen. and Houston resident Ted Cruz, during the brutal 2021 winter storm that plagued Texas, took a family trip to Cancún, where the sun shined and temperatures were around 80 degrees.
“It is all optics,” Rottinghaus said. “The continuity of government officials is pretty critical.”
Now all eyes are on county and state leaders as hurricane season ramps up again.
In a statement Sunday, Abbott said Texans are urged to take necessary precautions for Francine by monitoring road conditions and preparing an emergency plan. He directed the state's emergency management division to activate emergency resources ahead of the system's projected landfall on the Texas coast this week.
"Texas stands ready to provide all available resources needed to support Texans as a severe storm system begins to move along the Gulf Coast that will bring potential flash flooding threats and heavy rain," he said.
In Houston, the city’s Office of Emergency Management has already topped off fuel for emergency generators, pre-deployed high-water rescue vehicles and began assessing facilities and equipment.
CenterPoint, the city’s utility provider, said the company has already had 5,000 frontline workers on standby for Francine.
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