San Jacinto College Recognized as Storm Ready

Sep 11, 2019Amanda Fenwick
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PASADENA, Texas — The Houston/Galveston StormReady Advisory Board has recognized San Jacinto College as a StormReady community.

Dan Reilly, warning coordination meteorologist from the Weather Forecast Office Houston/Galveston, and Frank Bengochea, City of Pasadena emergency management coordinator, presented the StormReady plaque to San Jacinto College on Sept. 9, 2019.

"This success is clearly a result of the vision, leadership, hard work, and commitment to the students and staff at San Jacinto College," said Reilly. "The National Weather Service Houston/Galveston is proud to have San Jacinto College as part of the StormReady community and a valued partner in severe weather preparedness and education."

According to weather.gov, being a part of a weather-ready community is about preparing for the increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. Ninety-eight percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $15 billion in damage.

The StormReady program helps arm communities, universities and colleges, military bases, government sites, commercial enterprises, and other groups with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property before, during, and after the event.

"We are honored to receive the StormReady designation from the National Weather Service," said San Jacinto College emergency manager Ali Shah. "Our goal in the office of emergency management is to improve community safety practices and provide timely, quality, and effective emergency management."

The StormReady program encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations by providing emergency mangers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations. To be officially StormReady, a community must:

  • Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center
  • Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public
  • Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally
  • Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars
  • Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

The College's StormReady recognition is valid for three years. Learn more about campus emergency resources and procedures.

About San Jacinto College

Surrounded by monuments of history, industries, and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has served the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. The College is fiscally sound, holding bond ratings of AA and Aa2 by Standard & Poor's and Moody's. San Jacinto College is a 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Top 10 institution, a 2017 Aspen Prize Rising Star Award recipient, and an Achieving the Dream Leader College. The College serves approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students annually, and offers eight areas of study that put students on a path to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce. San Jacinto College's impact on the region totals $1.3 billion in added income, which supports 13,044 jobs.

For more information about San Jacinto College call 281-998-6150, visit sanjac.edu or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.