Tyler Prepares for Possible Impact from Hurricane Isaac

TYLER — The City of Tyler continues in a state of advanced preparedness should the City need to activate in any capacity due to Hurricane Isaac. Emergency officials participated in a statewide conference call Monday afternoon, determining the role Tyler could play in the State’s emergency response efforts as well as potential impacts the storm could have on the Tyler region. “The City has initiated advanced preparedness efforts as per our Emergency Response Plan due to Tropical Storm Isaac,” said Tyler Fire Chief Tim Johnson. “At this point, it is unknown what impact the storm could have upon Tyler; therefore we are taking all necessary steps to be prepared.”

Should Tyler be an evacuation location, the role would be to serve self evacuees and medical special needs evacuees only. Shelters will be stood up as needed. KETK reports the first emergency shelter has already been set up at St. Louis Baptist Church. The Red Cross says the church can house up to 150 people. Local residents are encouraged to check on their emergency kits, which officials term a good routine practice. You can go to http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit for information on building an emergency kit. The kit should contain food, water and emergency items to last for 72 hours.

Information on Tyler’s emergency efforts will be posted on the City web page (www.cityoftyler.org), the City’s social media pages (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/City-of-Tyler-Texas-Government/328744635747 and http://twitter.com/TylerEvents), and released to local media.