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With hurricane season days away, recent storms in the Houston area show why preparation matters
Entergy Texas conducts a full-scale response drill as hurricane season looms, aiming to ensure power stability after Houston’s recent storm outages.
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — As hurricane season approaches, Entergy Texas is taking no chances, running a full-scale response drill on Tuesday to make sure crews are ready. The timing couldn’t be better after overnight’s strong storms knocked out power across parts of Houston.
Monday night storms brought strong winds, resulting in damage, including a tree on a home in north Harris County, another tree on a vehicle and in Conroe, a similar sight.
With the start of hurricane season just days away, preparations are ramping up. Entergy set up its mock storm response staging area.
“This is a mobile command unit. This is designed to be the home away from home for employees and our technicians, responding to storms or incidents that, we have dispatched to this area,” said Senior Telecom Technician Dustin Stark.
Entergy is making sure they’re ready to respond and, more importantly, that the power stays on in the event a hurricane rolls through.
“When you think about resiliency, it’s the ability to bounce back from an event. So, we continue, you know, underground facilities, trim trees, replace poles, all the things that CenterPoint is doing. We’re doing likewise,” said Entergy VP of Reliability Frank Shannon.
While electric companies prepare, it’s a good time for homeowners to do the same, starting with checking your insurance coverage.
“Insurance is changing with extreme weather becoming more frequent. Carriers are excluding coverages or changing deductibles,” Shannon Martin with Bankrate Insurance said. “So, I would review your policy every year.”
Martin said it’s important to make sure you know what’s covered and what isn’t
“Flood is usually never covered by your basic homeowner’s insurance policy,” said Martin. “Windstorm coverage, you’re usually covered for it, but Texas can be a little bit different, maybe wrapped up into your basic home insurance policy.”
So, as crews gear up behind the scenes and insurance experts urge you to review your coverage, it’s a good reminder that being ready before a storm hits can make all the difference.