Texas
- State Population: 28,701,845
- Local Health Departments: 65
- Frequent Public Health Emergencies: Tornadoes, Flooding, Wildfires
- Key Emergency Operations Center Activations: 2020: COVID-19 Pandemic; 2017: Hurricane Harvey; 2016: Zika Response
- CDC PHEP Funding:
FY 2020: $40,952,164
FY 2019: $39,129,703 - CDC Crisis Response Funding: COVID-19
FY 2021: $157,015,371
FY 2020: $55,066,699
- Epidemiologists: 42
- Laboratorian: 6
- Educator: 13
- Health Professionals: 5
- CDC Preparedness Field Staff: 1
- Other*: 76
*Includes IT specialists, administrative staff, statisticians, and other positions
- Community Preparedness
- Medical Countermeasure Dispensing and Distribution
- Public Health Laboratory Testing
- Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiologic Investigation
- Information Sharing
In Texas, PHEP supports staff and resources that address the medical needs of populations with special needs affected by an incident and monitor their health for the duration of a response. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey unleashed more than 50 inches of rain on the Houston area, flooding 136,000 homes and leaving 61,064 people stranded. The Harris County Health Department used PHEP funds to open a shelter for patients who required specialized medical support. The state also supported this shelter with PHEP program assets including cots, a nursing station, and medical supplies.
In April and May of 2016, a record-setting 16.5 inches of rain caused the Brazos River in southeastern Texas to flood, devastating Fort Bend County. Residents who need special assistance to evacuate would have been stranded, except local health officials had already established a program under PHEP, Enable Fort Bend, to identify and register these residents. As a result, about 780 residents were safely evacuated.
