CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Freezing temperatures can give South Texans a flash back to a scary week in February 2021.
However, for every city emergency event, Corpus Christi Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Delgado said there’s a plan.
“We had police department here, we had the fire department, we had public works working with the National Weather Service coordinating exactly what’s happening out there,” he said.
Delgado and his team arrived at the Emergency Operations Center off Leopard Street, early Monday morning to monitor the freezing event.
There was one element that caused concern.
“Ice, the rain, the freezing rain, slick roads," Delgado said. "Police department responded to a lot of accidents throughout the morning as well as the fire department.”
Outside of the ice, Delgado said there were no other major challenges. The operations center didn't receive any calls for frozen or busted utility lines or major power outages.
He did say being prepared for an event like this starts with communication.
“Communication is so important, not only with the city staff, but with the outside agencies. TxDOT, we work really hard with them. The Port of Corpus Christi, Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Weather Service is vital to this operation," Delgado said.
It helped that Monday was a national holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
"Because there was no school today and a lot of people didn't work today it kind of lessened the traffic, but there was still traffic out there. So, it was really huge that it wasn't a work day or a school day," Delgado said.
He said rain shouldn’t be an issue for the remainder of the cold snap, expected through Wednesday. So, dealing with the bitter cold may be the only worry.
For that, the city has decided to open their first overnight warming center. It's located at the the gym at the Cabaniss Athletic Complex.
Guests can stay warm with some food, water, entertainment games and each has a cot to sleep on.
Corpus Christi residents can stay up-to-date during any emergency situation. The city uses reversealert.org to send out notifications.
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