Austin Homeland Security & Emergency Management is coordinating response to cold weather conditions.
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center (ATCEOC) has been activated in response to winter weather. Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is coordinating the response to this event with Travis County officials, other City service departments and non-governmental organizations. Critical updates will be posted online at austintexas.gov/alerts in 14 languages. With the potential forecast calling for precipitation and lower temperatures on Thursday, the City will operate 24-hour cold weather sheltering operations beginning tonight and continuing until Friday morning. This action triggers the EOC activation. Overnight Cold Weather Shelters are activated when overnight low temperatures drop to 35 degrees or lower. When temperatures remain at or near freezing throughout the day, shelters may transition to 24/7 operations. The EOC will remain operational until further notice. In addition to the Alerts page listed above, updates will be posted on @AustinHSEM social media accounts on Facebook, X/Twitter and Instagram, and shared to official City of Austin social media accounts. Community members are encouraged to follow their preferred local news media for up-to-date information. HSEM will contact reporters to ensure they have up-to-date information for the public. HSEM asks all members of the community to take necessary actions to protect themselves and other household members including pets for this event. Information on preparing for, withstanding, and recovering from a variety of emergencies is available online at ReadyCentralTexas.org. DO NOT call 911 unless you have a medical or life-threatening emergency. If you need other types of service or assistance from the city, please call 311. Keeping 911 lines clear for only emergencies will aid the City to properly dispatch first responders and emergency personnel to those who need help. If you have not signed up to receive emergency alerts on your phone, please visit WarnCentralTexas.org to register. Alerts can be sent via text, call, and/or email. The City will provide updates throughout the EOC activation and notify members of the media accordingly as well. Please stay safe and be resilient. ### |