News from TAC

RecoverTexas.org Now Live

A new TAC-sponsored Web site dedicated to serving as a centralized hub of information for county officials to use when recovering from a disaster is now live.

RecoverTexas.org will be managed by TAC’s County Information Resources Agency (CIRA). It will host a variety of information during the hurricane season, upcoming flu season, and after, said CIRA Director Gayle Latham.

The site is intended to help facilitate return-to-work and operational statuses for counties after an emergency, by providing critical information to the core county workforce. It will also serve as a central resource to link all emergency related information resources, including local, state and federal Web sites. And, it will help alert other counties within the state to emergency situations for which they may be able to offer assistance.

Creation of the site was driven by county officials’ needs, Latham said.
“During (both Hurricanes) Rita and Ike, we had counties suggest that this type of centralized information would have been helpful to them and asked us to look into what it might take to create it,” she said.

The biggest challenge in maintaining the new site, Latham said, is making sure that the information available via the site is accurate. That’s not just making sure the TAC-provided information is up-to-date, or that the links are up-to-date, but also making sure information included on linked pages, such as county Web sites, is also up-to-date.

“The site will have to be a work in progress for a while, as we are not going to post any information that has not been verified to be correct and counties are going to have to assist in keeping the information current,” Latham said.

In creating the site, TAC coordinated its efforts with the State Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies. The site was also supported by the creation of a new emergency management listserve, an email group dedicated to supporting the continuity of local government in times of a disaster. The listserve can include any member of state or local government involved in emergency response, as well as emergency volunteers. To join, go to list.county.org/lists and click on “TAC-Emergency Management.”

For more information regarding the site or to announce an update to your county’s own emergency management information, please contact Latham at gaylel@county.org.