Map of areas in Houston under boil water notice on Feb. 28, 2020. Click to visit the information Page from ReadyHarris.org
Last week, a 96-inch-diameter water pipe was damaged on the East side of Houston causing water pressure to drop throughout the nation’s fourth most-populous city. Without water pressure, restrooms and fire sprinklers in many public buildings were compromised, and a boil notice was issued for Houston and surrounding municipalities. It was an acute example of a time when access to government information becomes critical for the health and safety of millions of people in a very short period of time, which makes now a good time to provide a list of sources of local government information in times of emergency:
Offices of Emergency Management
Both Harris County and the City of Houston have offices of emergency management that disseminate information online about incidents, road and service closures, and cleanup assistance programs:
Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
Twitter: @ReadyHarris
Houston Office of Emergency Management
Twitter: @HoustonOEM
Emergency Alerts
You can receive alerts via text, email, and phone from Harris County and the City of Houston. Sign up and management alert settings at:
Harris County Emergency Alerts: ReadyHarris.org
Houston Emergency Alerts: houstonemergency.org/alerts/
Traffic and Road Hazard Information
Information about hazardous driving conditions and road closures are available from Houston Transtar at https://www.houstontranstar.org/
Court and Related Office Closures
There are several types of courts in Harris County, which post closure information to different websites depending on court type. Additionally, the appellate, district, and county courts have clerks’ offices that post court closure information. Find useful resources here:
1st and 14th Texas Courts of Appeals: Twitter: @TxCourts
Harris County District Courts (including civil, family, juvenile, and criminal-felony): https://www.justex.net/
Harris County District Clerk: https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com
Harris County Courts (including Civil and Criminal Courts at Law and Probate Courts): http://ccl.hctx.net/
Harris County Clerk: https://www.cclerk.hctx.net/
Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts: jp.hctx.net
City of Houston Municipal Courts: https://www.houstontx.gov/courts/