DOCSLIB.ORG

Hurricane Harvey Oral History Project Shelby Gonzalez HIST 5370

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hurricane Harvey Oral History Project Shelby Gonzalez HIST 5370 Hurricane Harvey Oral History Project Shelby Gonzalez HIST 5370 December 9, 2017 Hurricane Harvey Oral History Collection PROJECT TITLE: “Hurricane Harvey Oral History Project” NARRATOR: Dr. Kelly Quintanilla DATE OF INTERVIEW: November 6, 2017 INTERVIEWER NAME: Shelby Gonzalez DATE and LOCATION OF ITNERVIEW: Dr. Quintanilla’s office, Corpus Christi Hall at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas. President of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), Dr. Kelly Quintanilla is one of many persons being interviewed for the “Hurricane Harvey Oral History Project” being conducted by Graduate Students in good standing in the History Master’s Program at TAMU-CC. Dr. Quintanilla explains to us the policies and procedures she followed to prepare the university and students for the possibility of Hurricane Harvey making landfall in Corpus Christi, Texas. This project was turned into the Hurricane Harvey Oral History Collection, which explores, uncovers, and highlights the lives of residents from South Texas who experienced Hurricane Harvey. The collection was created in an effort to ensure that the memories of those affected by the hurricane not be lose, and to augment the Mary and Jeff Bell Library’s Special Collections and Archives Department records. The collections contains interviews from residents of Port Aransas, the President of TAMU-CC,… (will be continued) 1 Dr. Kelly Quintanilla Narrator Shelby L. Gonzalez History Graduate Program Interviewer November 6, 2017 At Dr. Quintanilla’s office Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, Texas SG: Today is November 6, 2017. I am here with the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi President, Dr. [Kelly] Quintanilla. We are going to talk about Hurricane Harvey [August 17, 2017 – September 3, 2017] and how she helped prepare the university for it. For starters, have you ever experienced a hurricane before Hurricane Harvey? KQ: Yes, I was here for Hurricane Bret [August 22, 1999], which was a much smaller hurricane – compared to Hurricane Harvey – and then I was here for Hurricane Rita [September 18,2005 – September 26, 2005] which did not actually hit us [Corpus Christi, Texas], but we had a mandatory evacuation; so I evacuated for it. This would be my third hurricane experience, but Hurricane Harvey was the first one that actually hit us, and was more impactful. SG: Okay, so you were more or less prepared in a sense, for yourself not so much for the university? KQ: Well, I was here at the university for all three of those. I have been here a very long time, twenty-four years [Laughter]. SG: How did you first hear about the hurricane? KQ: Well, because I am part of the Incident Command Team for the university, we receive tracking on all weather, particularly hurricane related whether, every storm that comes in, every warning. As the storms are coming toward landfall, no matter where you are at, you get frequent updates. At one point, it was about every fifteen minutes. We are constantly tracking storms or any heavy whether that might affect the campus. As the hurricane started moving, we noticed it coming more toward Corpus Christ. SG: Could you walk me through the process of preparing the university for the hurricane? KQ: We work on this all time. All of the folks that are on the Incident Command Team go through an online Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] training. Every year we also do hurricane drills, working on our readiness and making sure everything is in place. When I was Dean, we had something called “Islander Ready,” which helped us make sure we were prepared. As Provost, I was over the academic side, with academic preparedness. As Provost, you are “Deputy Commander.” Interestingly, as President – and this is maybe something we change – the CFO [Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration, Mr. Terry Tatum] is actually the “Incident Commander” in the old structure. This may change a bit, because it seemed very weird for me not to be the person technically in charge. I was still a part of all the decision making though. SG: Would you say that was a problem that you were not the one making the direct decisions? 2 KQ: Luckily, the CFO and I were together the whole time. So when we made the decision to close campus, we were actually in College Station. We had to go up there for a Board of Regents meeting and we were monitoring the whole time. I actually sent [Terry Tatum] back early, because the team here was meeting and we had conference called in. [Terry Tatum] and I worked together on everything. Technically in the FEMA structure, when the “Incident Commander” is in place that is the only person who is in charge, but that was not an issue at all. It definitely felt a little odd to me though, so we are going to work through that for next time. SG: Okay. What was some of the check points that you had to do in order to evacuate the campus? KQ: Each hurricane drill we do is when the university would evacuate. When we were in College Station, Terry Tatum and I sat down and looked at everything. To me, it was a pretty easy decision because what I saw was that this hurricane was hitting Texas. Student were not here already, it was literally going to be “Move-in Weekend” when the hurricane was going to hit. We knew for sure we were going to get big gusts of wind; well no one can move in with big gusts of wind. We also knew that even if it did not hit us, it was going to hit some part of Texas and I did not want students trying to travel through a storm. I did not want to add additional stress to students taking any chances about coming or not. Hurricanes can move you know, so you did not want someone thinking they could travel and then the storm moves. It just seemed to me, for the sake of parents and students, the easiest thing was to have everyone stay where they were. It was going to be safer for everyone involved. We also only had a few students who had already moved on to campus, so we only had to evacuate eight students. That made it a lot easier. SG: On campus, as in on Ennis Joslin [Rd.] as well? KQ: We do Camden [Miramar] and Momentum [Village]. We do those two because the university owns them, the other apartments on Ennis Joslin, students may be in those but we cannot tell them to leave. We did evacuate the students, particularly International Students who may not have anywhere to go.1 SG: Were you helping them find a place to go? KQ: Yes, we have a place for them in Laredo, Texas. We pick them all up and we take staff with them and they evacuate to Laredo, A&M International. They hosted us there. We make sure they are taken care of. SG: Did you evacuate or stay? KQ: I stayed. One of the things then, we had to decided when we were going to shut campus down, even though we were not going to have students move in, having been here at other times, to me I wanted us to shut down quickly so that we could get everything on campus in place. You know, you want to take thing up off the floor, make sure you wrap computers and unplug everything. We started that process immediately so we could shut campus down and people could go take care of their homes, leave and do what they needed to do. We got that all in place. My husband and I had always decided that if the hurricane was a Category Three of less, we would stay. We re-thought that decision [Laughter], and I felt really bad. My poor daughter, at the house had watched on television when the news announced that the hurricane had been upgraded to a Category Four, and she said “well I guess we are leaving now.” Well, it was too late at that point, so I felt really bad. Particularly since I was relatively new to this position as President, I did feel better being closer to the university, because I could then check out things quicker. There is a group that stays on campus, and they shelter down. It is mostly police, some of the Information Technology (IT) folks, and they protect campus and they make sure we have generates. We have data stored in other places, but they keep an eye on all those things. They were here, and I stayed in town on the South side of Corpus Christ. After the hurricane made landfall, that morning I heard on the radio it was clear so I drove over to campus. 1 “Welcome to Islander Housing,” Texas A&M University-Corpus Corpus Christi, accessed December 8, 2017, housing.tamucc.edu. Camden Miramar and Momentum Village are two TAMU-CC student housing complexes. Miramar is considered a more traditional on-campus housing experience compared to Momentum Village which is located on TAMU-CC’s Momentum Campus off Ennis Joslin Rd; making Momentum Village the best option for established students who want the benefits of on-campus housing and the feel of off-campus living. 3 SG: Did you lose power at your house? KQ: Yes, we went a week without power. It felt like forever. SG: That is a long time. Was it the day after the hurricane already hit that you went to campus? KQ: Yes, I had come back that next morning [August 26, 2017].
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Observation and a Numerical Study of Gravity Waves During Tropical Cyclone Ivan (2008)
    Open Access Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 641–658, 2014 Atmospheric www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/641/2014/ doi:10.5194/acp-14-641-2014 Chemistry © Author(s) 2014. CC Attribution 3.0 License. and Physics Observation and a numerical study of gravity waves during tropical cyclone Ivan (2008) F. Chane Ming1, C. Ibrahim1, C. Barthe1, S. Jolivet2, P. Keckhut3, Y.-A. Liou4, and Y. Kuleshov5,6 1Université de la Réunion, Laboratoire de l’Atmosphère et des Cyclones, UMR8105, CNRS-Météo France-Université, La Réunion, France 2Singapore Delft Water Alliance, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore 3Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, UMR8190, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Université Versailles-Saint Quentin, Guyancourt, France 4Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University, Chung-Li 3200, Taiwan 5National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Australia 6School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne, Australia Correspondence to: F. Chane Ming ([email protected]) Received: 3 December 2012 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 24 April 2013 Revised: 21 November 2013 – Accepted: 2 December 2013 – Published: 22 January 2014 Abstract. Gravity waves (GWs) with horizontal wavelengths ber 1 vortex Rossby wave is suggested as a source of domi- of 32–2000 km are investigated during tropical cyclone (TC) nant inertia GW with horizontal wavelengths of 400–800 km, Ivan (2008) in the southwest Indian Ocean in the upper tropo- while shorter scale modes (100–200 km) located at northeast sphere (UT) and the lower stratosphere (LS) using observa- and southeast of the TC could be attributed to strong local- tional data sets, radiosonde and GPS radio occultation data, ized convection in spiral bands resulting from wave number 2 ECMWF analyses and simulations of the French numerical vortex Rossby waves.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 8 Hazard Analysis
    Appendix 8 Hazard Analysis Introduction This appendix includes several components. First is an overall discussion of the Hazard Analysis modeling effort, describing the surge (ADCIRC) and wave (WAM, STWAVE) modeling. That first section is followed by a subsidiary section labeled Appendix 8-1 that defines the many acronyms used in the modeling discussion. This is followed by a major section labeled Appendix 8-2 consisting of the Whitepaper of Donald T. Resio, ERDC-CHL, which forms the basis of the storm statistics and JPM methods discussed in the main body of the report. Owing to its prominence in the discussion, it has, for convenience, been referred to as R2007. Note that R2007, itself, includes several appendices; these are identified as Appendices A-G within Appendix 8-2. Finally, a discussion of the rainfall model is included here as Appendix 8-3. Hazard Analysis The hazard analysis required for the risk assessment was based upon the hurricane modeling conducted by a team of Corps of Engineers, FEMA, NOAA, private sector and academic researchers working toward the definition of a new system for estimating hurricane surges and waves. Following is a discussion of the processes used by this team and the steps taken by the risk team to incorporate the results into the risk analysis. The hurricane hazard definition required as input to the risk analysis involved several steps: 1. Selection of the methodology to be used for estimating surges and waves 2. Determination of hurricane probabilities 3. Production of the ADCIRC grid models for the different HPS configurations. 4. Production of the computer system for development of the large number of hydrographs required by the risk model.
    [Show full text]
  • Ch 5. the Atmospheric Environment Observed at Big Bend National
    Final Report — September 2004 5. THE ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT OBSERVED AT BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK DURING THE BRAVO STUDY The BRAVO Study intensively researched the properties of the particulate matter, atmospheric optics, meteorology, and air pollutant emissions of the study area during July through October 1999. The study also explored transport and diffusion by injecting perfluorocarbon tracers into the atmosphere at specific locations. Findings produced by these multiple experiments concerning the environment around Big Bend National Park and throughout the study area are summarized in this chapter. Some of these findings were carried into the source attribution analyses that are described in Chapters 10 and 11, while others advanced scientific understanding for future application. More detail on many of these studies and their results is provided in published papers and reports that are cited in the text; some of the reports are in the Appendix. 5.1 Particulate Matter Characterization by the Routine Measurement Network As described in Section 3.3, the BRAVO Study included an extensive network of particulate matter samplers that routinely collected 24-hour and 6-hour samples over the four-month study period. This section summarizes findings derived from the routine measurements concerning the temporal and spatial characteristics of the study area particulate matter and its composition. 5.1.1 Particulate Matter Temporal and Spatial Characteristics Evaluation of BRAVO Study particulate matter sample composition and temporal variation found similar behavior at groups of adjacent sampling sites in the study domain. The map in Figure 5-1 shows the grouping of sampling sites that this evaluation suggested. To provide a manageable description of the study period aerosol, concentration measurements at sites within each group were averaged together.
    [Show full text]
  • June Is a Month Full of History and Celebrations
    This Month: Celebrating June Father of Flag Day Food Bank RGV Valley Birding JDA Academic Honors Gerald Sneed, Wildlife Hurricane Season Begins TSA Captains Leaving RGV June 2017 The Little Paper You’ll Want To Keep & Share Vol. 4 No. 1 The Valley Spotlight Is Celebrating Its Fourth Birthday! This issue marks the beginning of our fourth year of pub- We also say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have lishing The Valley Spotlight! With much gratitude, we thank enjoyed reading The Valley Spotlight for the past three years. all of the individuals and businesses in the Rio Grande Valley Without YOU, there would be no reason to continue. - So with great enthusiasm and joy, we begin Volume 4 and tributions in writing stories and articles. look forward to many more to come. June is a Month Full of History and Celebrations On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Al- On June 8, 1874, Apache leader Cochise On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova, lied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of died on the Chiricahua Reservation in south- eastern Arizona. After a peace treaty had been in space as her Soviet space- Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, broken by the U.S. Army in 1861, he waged war against the Tyuratam launch site. the operation a crusade in which, “we will settlers and soldiers, forc- She manually controlled the accept nothing less than full victory.” ing them to withdraw from spacecraft completing 48 or- southern Arizona. In 1862, bits in 71 hours before land- he became principal chief ing safely.
    [Show full text]
  • A Classification Scheme for Landfalling Tropical Cyclones
    A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME FOR LANDFALLING TROPICAL CYCLONES BASED ON PRECIPITATION VARIABLES DERIVED FROM GIS AND GROUND RADAR ANALYSIS by IAN J. COMSTOCK JASON C. SENKBEIL, COMMITTEE CHAIR DAVID M. BROMMER JOE WEBER P. GRADY DIXON A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in the Department of Geography in the graduate school of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2011 Copyright Ian J. Comstock 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Landfalling tropical cyclones present a multitude of hazards that threaten life and property to coastal and inland communities. These hazards are most commonly categorized by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Potential Disaster Scale. Currently, there is not a system or scale that categorizes tropical cyclones by precipitation and flooding, which is the primary cause of fatalities and property damage from landfalling tropical cyclones. This research compiles ground based radar data (Nexrad Level-III) in the U.S. and analyzes tropical cyclone precipitation data in a GIS platform. Twenty-six landfalling tropical cyclones from 1995 to 2008 are included in this research where they were classified using Cluster Analysis. Precipitation and storm variables used in classification include: rain shield area, convective precipitation area, rain shield decay, and storm forward speed. Results indicate six distinct groups of tropical cyclones based on these variables. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the faculty members I have been working with over the last year and a half on this project. I was able to present different aspects of this thesis at various conferences and for this I would like to thank Jason Senkbeil for keeping me ambitious and for his patience through the many hours spent deliberating over the enormous amounts of data generated from this research.
    [Show full text]
  • Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas
    PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION IN THE AMERICAS Issue No. 79 News and Information for the International Disaster Community January 2000 Inappropriate Relief Donations: What is the Problem? f recent disasters worldwide are any indication, Unsolicited clothing, canned foods and, to a lesser the donation of inappropriate supplies remains extent, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, I a serious problem for the affected countries. continue to clog the overburdened distribution networks during the immediate aftermath of highly-publicized tragedies. This issue per- sists in spite of health guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, a regional policy adopted by the Ministries of Health of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the educational lobbying efforts of a consortium of primarily European NGOs w w w. wemos.nl). I N S I D E Now the Harvard School of Public Health has partially addressed the issue in a com- prehensive study of U.S. pharmaceutical News from d o n a t i o n s (w w w. h s p h . h a r v a r d . e d u / f a c u l t y / PAHO/WHO r e i c h / d o n a t i o n s / i n d e x . h t m). Although the 2 study correctly concluded that the "problem A sports complex in Valencia, Venezuela, which served as the main temporary shel- Other ter for the population displaced by the disaster, illustrates what happens when an may be more serious in disaster relief situa- Organizations enormous amount of humanitarian aid arrives suddenly in a country.
    [Show full text]
  • Hurricane Bret Final Summary Report
    Hurricane Bret Summary Report (August 21-23rd, 1999) Life History: After becoming a tropical depression in the Bay of Campeche on August 18, Hurricane Bret intensified to a dangerous category four storm on August 21. However, Bret weakened as it encountered cooler waters just before making landfall in Kenedy County, about 50 miles south of Corpus Christi, Texas, around 7 PM CDT on August 22. Kenedy County is a very sparsely populated county in south Texas. As Bret moved inland across south Texas, it produced locally heavy rainfall. Bret became a tropical depression the evening of August 23 as it moved across the Rio Grande, just north of Laredo, into Mexico. WS Form F-60 Summaries: Aransas County: No injuries or deaths reported. One tornado damaged an RV and an out-building. Bee County: No injuries, deaths, or property damage reported. Duval County: No injuries or deaths reported. Maximum rainfall reported: 6.50 inches. Total estimated dwellings damaged: 200. Total estimated property loss: 1 million dollars. Total estimated land damage: 10,000 acres. Total estimated land damage costs: 750 thousand dollars. Goliad County: No injuries, deaths, or property damage reported. Total reported rainfall: 2 inches. Kleberg County: No injuries or deaths reported. Maximum rainfall reported: 4.00 inches. Estimated property loss: 100 thousand dollars. Estimated crop loss: 250 thousand dollars. La Salle County: No injuries, deaths, or property damage reported. Maximum rainfall reported: 4.20 inches. Nueces County: No injuries or deaths reported. Refugio County: No injuries, deaths, or property damage reported. Maximum rainfall reported: 7.25 inches. Media Summary from news articles: Wednesday August 25, 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times The City Manager estimated “...less than $100,000...” damage in Corpus Christi.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial and Temporal Variability of Tropical Storm and Hurricane Strikes
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2007 Spatial and temporal variability of tropical storm and hurricane strikes in the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles Alexa Jo Andrews Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Andrews, Alexa Jo, "Spatial and temporal variability of tropical storm and hurricane strikes in the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles" (2007). LSU Master's Theses. 3558. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3558 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE STRIKES IN THE BAHAMAS, AND THE GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Geography and Anthropology by Alexa Jo Andrews B.S., Louisiana State University, 2004 December, 2007 Table of Contents List of Tables.........................................................................................................................iii
    [Show full text]
  • Decision-Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley
    University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ScholarWorks @ UTRGV Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations College of Liberal Arts 4-18-2018 Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision-Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley Dean Kyne The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, [email protected] Arlett Sophia Lomeli The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley William Donner The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Erika Zuloaga The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/soc_fac Part of the Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Kyne, D., Lomeli, A., Donner, W., & Zuloaga, E. (2018). Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision-Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 15(2), 20170010. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2017-0010 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Liberal Arts at ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UTRGV. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. DE GRUYTER Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 2018; 20170010 Dean Kyne1 / Arlett Sophia Lomeli2 / William Donner2 / Erika Zuloaga3 Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision-Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley 1 Department of Sociology, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 1201 W University Dr., Edinburg, TX 78539, USA, E-mail: [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas Bibliographycompiled By: Nancy L
    COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAGUNA MADRE OF TEXAS & TAMAULIPAS Compiled by John W. Tunnell, Jr. Nancy L. Hilbun Kim Withers Center for Coastal Studies Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi 6300 Ocean Dr. Corpus Christi, Texas 78412 Prepared for The Nature Conservancy of Texas PO Box 1440 San Antonio, Texas 78295-1440 January 2002 TAMU-CC-0202-CCS PREFACE This Comprehensive Bibiliography of the Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas includes almost 1,400 citations over a 70 year time span. It is a companion volume for use with The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas (J.W. Tunnell and F. W. Judd, editors, 2002, Texas A&M University Press, 346 pages). This bibliography is available in printed and electronic formats. A PDF version is available for download or search (using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5) on the Center for Coastal Studies website (http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/ccs/welcome.htm.) and the Texas Nature Conservancy website (http://www.texasnature.org/). Both printed and electronic versions consist of three parts: Part I, Laguna Madre – A Sketch (a resumé or executive summary of the book in both English and Spanish); Part II, Comprehensive Bibliography; and Part III, Citations by Keyword. In addition, a Reference Manager for Windows (version 9) CD of the bibliographic entries is available for purchase ($10) from the Center for Coastal Studies, NRC Suite 3200, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78412 or by contacting Kim Withers ([email protected]) or Gloria Krause ([email protected]) at the Center. The Laguna Madre book and bibiolgraphy were funded by The Nature Conservancy of Texas with grants from the Robert J.
    [Show full text]
  • Effects of Hurricane Bret on Northern Bobwhite Survival in South Texas
    EFFECTS OF HURRICANE BRET ON NORTHERN BOBWHITE SURVIVAL IN SOUTH TEXAS Fidel Herna´ndez Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA Juan D. Vasquez Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA Fred C. Bryant Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA Andrew A. Radomski1 Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA Ronnie Howard San Tomas Hunting Camp, Box 94, Encino, TX 78353, USA ABSTRACT The impacts of intense storms such as hurricanes on wildlife rarely are documented. We had the opportunity to monitor the impact of Hurricane Bret on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) survival and reproduction in Brooks County, Texas. On 22 August 1999, Hurricane Bret struck our study area, which received Ͼ45 cm of rain and experienced wind gusts Ͼ160 km/h. We documented the survival of bobwhite adults (n ϭ 82), broods (n ϭ 15), and nests (n ϭ 4) via radiotelemetry before and after the hurricane. Only 11 (13%) adult bobwhites were killed, with 4 killed directly from exposure to the hurricane. Broods experienced higher mortality, with 7 (47%) broods killed during the hurricane. Six of the 7 dead broods were Ͻ1 week old. Sizes of the 8 surviving broods were reduced from a mean brood size of about 11 chicks prior to the hurricane to a mean size of 4 after the hurricane (P ϭ 0.01). Of the 4 nests monitored, 3 were depredated and eggs in 1 nest hatched the weekend of the storm.
    [Show full text]
  • Hazard Mitigation Planning Review Guide to Create the Plan in Accordance with the Process As Shown in Figure 2-1 Below
    C AMERON C OUNTY H AZARD M ITIGATION P LAN PLANNING PARTNER: CITY OF HARLINGEN Preparing for a Sustainable Future for Human Life and Property A PPROVED: M AY, 2015 For more information, visit our website at: www.co.cameron.tx.us Written comments should be forwarded to: H2O Partners, Inc. P. O. Box 160130 Austin, Texas 78716 [email protected] www.h2opartnersusa.com T ABLE OF C ONTENTS Section 1 - Introduction Background ....................................................................................................................................1-1 Scope .............................................................................................................................................1-2 Purpose ..........................................................................................................................................1-3 Authority ........................................................................................................................................1-3 Summary of Sections.......................................................................................................................1-4 Section 2 – Planning Process Plan Preparation and Development .................................................................................................2-1 Review and Incorporation of Existing Plans ......................................................................................2-5 Public and Stakeholder Involvement ...............................................................................................2-8
    [Show full text]