10th annual South Texas All Hazards Conference

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Leaders from across the state and the Rio Grande Valley gathered for the 10th annual South Texas All Hazards Conference.

The conference provided public health, public safety, and public works members with opportunities for networking, resource sharing, and continuing education to better serve our communities during catastrophic events.

“It started as a hurricane conference and then three years into we had H1N1, we had a mumps outbreak, we had wildfires north of Edinburg and we started to see school shootings, so all these things started happening," said Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Chief, Eddie Olivarez.

For the last 10 years, STAHC has brought together city and county leaders, first responders, and health professionals across the RGV.

“You sit down and think about small communities like Granjeno, Peñitas, Sullivan City, Olmito, Santa Rosa, a lot of those areas do not have the resources and the funding to send 10 to 15 people to a large-scale conference that charges several hundred dollars to attend," said Olivarez.

There is a lack of water across the RGV and with hurricane season posing a threat, officials are preparing.

“If we don’t have that hurricane this year and we don’t have that rain this year, South Texas is going to have a serious problem having adequate water supply, so we are already planning for that, the state governor’s office, emergency management, the hospitals we are already having those discussions," he said.

Despite all the natural disasters the RGV prepares for, the most recent lesson learned by all emergency managers was the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been four years since the outbreak and officials say preparing for the next public health crisis is key to having a better outcome.

“There are certain core capabilities that we need to practice that we need to work together with and are in many times dependent on other agencies and when you look at solely from your own eyes without talking with others or speaking with others I won't be the kind of response we all need," said David Gruber, Texas Department of State Health Services.