“Our country is stronger when we come together in times of crisis, and Texas is immediately deploying additional support to help our fellow Americans as Florida braces for this major hurricane,” Governor Abbott said in a statement.

Texas isn’t expected to take a direct hit when the storm makes landfall as a hurricane. But storm surge and dangerous winds are possible.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to ready state emergency response resources ahead of severe thunderstorms expected to impact the eastern half of Texas Thursday.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to prepare the state’s response resources ahead of anticipated impacts from excessive rainfall and flash flooding threats from a storm system moving across Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to deploy additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to assist in what he called a “border crisis.”

After a 3-year-old began showing signs of distress, the bus of asylum-seekers traveling from Brownsville to Chicago pulled over and an ambulance was called. The child later died at a hospital in Illinois.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources in anticipation of severe weather and potential flooding expected in the state beginning Tuesday through the evening.

With severe weather threatening parts of Texas, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) are encouraging residents to report damage to their property by submitting a damage assessment survey.

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to use state resources as severe weather and potential flooding are expected to impact areas of Texas beginning Monday evening into Tuesday morning.

One of the FEMA testing sites will be placed in Harris County.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Division of Emergency Management were launching nine COVID-19 antibody infusion centers throughout the state, and the first Houston-area location is opening Monday.

Houston area officials say the latest wave of COVID-19 cases is pushing the local health care system to nearly “a breaking point,” resulting in some patients having to be transferred out of the city to get medical care, including one who had to be taken to North Dakota.

Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged “groups of Texans who wish to get vaccinated as a business, family unit, friend group, or more” to schedule an event.

After receiving requests for an extension from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Mayor Sylvester Turner and other officials, FEMA and the Texas Division of Emergency Management have agreed to extend the duration of the vaccination site at NRG.

Greg Abbott and the Texas Division of Emergency Management announced Tuesday the start of a COVID-19 rapid testing program for youth summer camps in Texas. The program is set to help summer camps that are licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services conduct rapid tests of staff and campers during the summer. Through this program, TDEM will provide participating summer camps with COVID-19 rapid antigen tests that will be administered to staff and campers who volunteer to participate. “The COVID-19 Testing Program for Texas Youth Summer Camps will help camps safely operate throughout the summer by quickly identifying positive COVID-19 cases among campers and staff. I encourage qualifying summer camps to apply for this program so that we can continue to keep Texans safe from this virus.”AdYouth summer camps that are licensed by DSHS and wish to participate in the program can apply here.

Greg Abbott has joined Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in asking FEMA for an extension on the vaccination super-site at NRG. According to a news release by Abbott, he and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) asked FEMA for extensions for the NRG site as well as the federally supported vaccination sites in Arlington and Dallas. On top of asking for the extension on the already-existing sites in Texas, the TDEM submitted a request to establish a new site at the Alamodome in San Antonio, which FEMA denies, according to the release. AdAbbott’s announcement comes days after Hidalgo and Turner submitted their own letter asking for an extension of the NRG vaccination site through at least May. FEMA has yet to respond to the requests.

HOUSTON – Despite some social media posts, the Texas Division of Emergency Management said certain COVID-19 vaccination events in Liberty and Matagorda counties will not be open to almost anyone. The doses initially went to folks who are homebound, as well as those 65 and older, said TDEM spokesman Seth Christensen. People ages 50 to 64 are part of group 1C in Texas, which is open for vaccination. Also on Thursday, a post on the Matagorda County Emergency Operation Center’s Facebook page discussed a vaccination event at the county fairgrounds scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Christensen said nothing has changed in terms of which population groups have been approved to receive the vaccine.

If the recent arctic blast and power outages resulted in damage to your home or business, the state of Texas wants to hear from you. Greg Abbott and the Texas Division of Emergency Management are asking Texans to complete a Self Reporting Damage Survey, according to a press release. The voluntary survey does not replace reporting damage to an insurance agency and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance, according to the state. Ad“I urge Texans to fill out the Self Reporting Damage Survey and provide crucial information on the winter weather impacts to their home or property,” said Abbott. The form also asks individuals to identify the type of damage and to upload photos of the damage.

Greg Abbott spoke at a Saturday press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to a winter storm gripping Texas. Greg Abbott told residents Wednesday to search for emergency warming shelters on Google and to call 311 for additional assistance. When the power went out, the state suddenly lost the ability to provide essential information to people desperately in need of help. AdBut according to residents and lawmakers around the state, TDEM failed to provide such emergency alerts during this crisis, effectively leaving Texans without the kind of information necessary for living through a disaster. The electric grid failed, the communication system failed and Texans say they feel abandoned by their government.

A sample is collected at a Texas Division of Emergency Management free COVID-19 testing site at Minute Maid Park Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in Houston. The newly opened mega site, which has eight drive-thru lanes and four walk-up lanes, has the ability to process 2,000 tests per day. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The competitive scramble by states to buy personal protective equipment this spring stuck some businesses with big bills. An Associated Press analysis of state purchasing data during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic found that states canceled billions of dollars in PPE orders. Many of the cancellations occurred when businesses couldn't get the products to states under tight deadlines or when prices rose. Many businesses that jumped in to help this spring soon found themselves facing delays from suppliers and, in some cases, having orders canceled by states too impatient to wait. For other companies, their first venture into selling personal protective equipment is still causing headaches.

Coronavirus tests with results in 15-minutes or less are coming to a few Texas schools as part of a new pilot program announced Wednesday by Gov. The program is meant to help schools conduct rapid tests of employees and students who have written permission from parents. The medical company producing the tests said the antigen tests require a nasal swab, cost $5 and about the size of a credit card. “This rapid testing pilot program will be an effective strategy to protect the health and safety of students and staff while helping to further ensure that Texas students have access to a quality education throughout the pandemic and beyond.”Eight school systems are participating in the launch of the program — Bob Hope School in Port Arthur, Fabens Independent School District, Grace Community School in Tyler, Granger Independent School District, Lampasas Independent School District, Longview Independent School District, Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District and Ysleta Independent School District. Rapid antigen tests, that can detect proteins on the outside of the virus, are more prone to giving false negative results than other coronavirus tests that use genetic material.

Like many others that evacuated to Houston following Hurricane Laura, they checked into local hotels with the costs covered by the state through Friday. If families need help with transportation, the Red Cross can help them get there. The TDEM said displaced families that still need help need to call a hotline number so that everything can be processed. ”We do thank Houston. I do thank Texas.

Greg Abbott on Tuesday will visit a Texas Division of Emergency Management warehouse in San Antonio to receive an update on the state's supply of personal protective equipment. He'll be joined by Nim Kidd, the chief of the state's emergency management division. Later Tuesday, Abbott will travel to McAllen to receive a briefing on the opening of the McAllen Convention Center as a health care facility. South Texas has been hot spot for the virus in recent weeks. The San Antonio event is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Our livestream feed is courtesy KXAS in Dallas-Fort Worth.

HOUSTON – The Houston Health Department and partners announced the schedule for sites offering free COVID-19 tests the week of July 20. TDEM sites require appointments by calling 844-778-255 or visiting txcovidtest.org. The sites require appointments by calling 832-426-3760 and will run through Sept. 30. Houston Health Department/FEMAThe department operates two free drive-thru COVID-19 community-based testing sites open to anyone, regardless of symptoms. Houstonians can visit HoustonEmergency.org/covid19 for current Houston test sites and information about stopping the spread of the virus.

Question: How will Texas determine which counties are exempt from Gov. Abbotts statewide mask order issued Thursday? Greg Abbott signed an executive order Thursday that requires all Texans wear masks or face coverings in public and in businesses beginning Friday at noon. Per the order, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) has to keep a list of counties that are exempt from the mask order. Do you have a question about Houston, Texas, coronavirus or the new mask order?

Mark Felix for The Texas TribuneThe state of Texas has spent more than $200 million on 106 orders of personal protective equipment from March 1 through early June, according to purchase orders released by the Texas Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday. Though purchase orders totaling $1.1 billion in the protective equipment have been issued, orders for $638 million dollars' worth of items have been canceled to date and were not paid out. He said there are a number of reasons why purchase orders were canceled. There are still outstanding purchase orders. The governor has since provided updates on incoming shipments of the protective equipment, and said at a May 18 press conference that "we now have ample supplies of PPE.

HOUSTON – Kroger announced five free COVID-19 testing sites across the Houston and Montgomery areas. Kroger has partnered with the city of Houston, Harris County and Montgomery County to provide free testing for all priority groups, including healthcare workers, first responders and symptomatic groups. “There is a critical need for testing across our city, and it’s important that we step up to meet that need,” said Joe Kelley, president of Kroger Houston. “The residents of Montgomery County are in need of this critical testing, and Kroger has always been a valued partner in Montgomery County. Houston Health Department and partner agencies set up four free COVID-19 test sites in vulnerable communities.