ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — Orange County Emergency Management is working hard to make sure they're prepared for potential storms.
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Emergency management coordinator Joel Ardoin said at this point the storm is very unpredictable. The county is doing their part to prepare for the worst.
"Right now the tracks are still showing the storm going into somewhere around central Louisiana to possibly Cameron Parish, so we're going to prepare for the worst," Ardoin said.
Today, the county spoke with the state. Ardoin said they'll have two conferences calls a day with the Lake Charles National Weather Service, until the threat is gone.
As a precaution, they set up sand bag operations throughout Orange County. Residents in the low lying areas who want to protect their homes can pick them up at the following locations:
1. Precinct 1 Maintenance barn located on N Hwy 87 @ N Teal
2. 11897 State Hwy 62 in Mauriceville directly across from Market Basket on Hwy 62
3. Precinct 3 County Maintenance barn located on 2502 West Roundbunch Road
4. Precinct 4 County Maintenance barn located on 375 Claiborne Street
Anyone wanting to pick up sand bags need to bring their own shovels.
Ardoin said it's important to prepare, even if there wasn't a storm in the gulf.
"When June 1st rolls around, people should have all their preparations in place and a plan, just in case we do get a storm," Ardoin said.
Ardoin said residents need to prepare their own evacuation plans, make sure they know where all of their important documents are, and stock up on non perishable foods and water. He assures that they are planning at the government level and at the emergency management level.
"We've learned a lot, unfortunately, in the past several years, because we've had several hurricanes, and we've learned by our mistakes. We'll be prepared on our end to deal with that, and we're much better prepared now for recovery," Ardoin said.
Ardoin said he understands some folks still haven't full recovered from Harvey. Last August, 12News spoke with Randall Allen, a Vidor man who was still making repairs to his home, and battling contracting scams.
With the help of multiple church groups, Allen is close to moving back into his home. He's been living in a FEMA trailer for over a year now, and he worries another flood could set back all of his progress.
"It may be flushed right down the toilet, and I can't, I won't do another flood," Allen said.
Allen is stocked up with water and canned goods. He said his trust is in his local meteorologists at this point. Allen's hope is that it doesn't come down to another evacuation, but if it does he's prepared to grab his two dogs and go.
"I think they're (meteorologist) just, now they're super accurate, and I will see what they say and just play it by ear and I will pack up and leave. There's nothing that can't be replaced here," Allen said.
Allen hopes the county took some lessons from Harvey, and will be more prepared this hurricane season.
Emergency Management will put out press releases to the local media, and keep the county informed through their Facebook page and county website. Ardoin said it's important to stay alert, monitor the weather, and take precautions in the coming days.