Chapter 10 · Situations and settings · 19 min read
Natural disasters
Heavy rain can cause flash floods in minutes, especially over ground that doesn't absorb water and with creeks that overflow. On top of that come tornadoes, extreme heat every summer, freezes and historic winter storms, hail, drought, and the effects of hurricanes that hit the coast. This chapter gives you, for each disaster, what to do before, during, and after, designed for your home or apartment and your household. Power and water outages and evacuation are explained in chapter 9; first aid (heat stroke, hypothermia), in chapter 7; extreme cold in the open, in chapter 14.
The essentials · if you only have a minute
- Turn Around, Don't Drown: never drive or walk in floodwater. 6 inches (15 cm) of moving water can knock down an adult; 12 inches (30 cm) will carry away most cars; 2 feet (60 cm) will carry away trucks and SUVs.
- Watch = get ready. Warning = act now.
- Tornado on the lowest floor: the most interior room without windows (bathroom or closet), head and neck covered, shoes on.
- Heat: never leave anyone, including a pet, in a car. If you don't have air conditioning, go to a cooling center (ask your city's services line or call 211).
- Freeze: let the faucets drip, open cabinet doors, keep stored water, and never heat with the stove or a generator indoors.
- Get alerts: sign up for your city's or county's alert system, turn on your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts, and use the flood alert service for your area.
In this chapter
10.1Watch, warning, and advisory: what each alert means2 min read10.2Seasonal hazard calendar1 min read10.3What to add to the kit for each disaster1 min read10.4Flash floods3 min read0/1210.5Tornadoes3 min read0/1010.6Hurricanes1 min read0/910.7Extreme heat3 min read0/610.8Winter storm and freeze3 min read0/1110.9Wildfire and grass fire1 min read0/510.10Hail1 min read0/410.11Earthquake1 min read10.12Drought1 min read0/5
Chapter sources (1)
- 1.Turn Around Don't Drown — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-turn-around-dont-drown ; https:// weather.gov/tsa/hydro_tadd 2.Flood Watch vs. Warning — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-watch-warning 3.Tornado Watch vs. Warning; Tornado Safety: During — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado-ww ; https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado-during 4.Hurricane and Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/safety/hurricane-ww 5.Heat Index — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/ama/heatindex 6.Heat hazard product renaming (Extreme Heat Watch/Warning) — NOAA/National Weather Service, mar. 2025 — https://www.weather.gov/ news/250310-heat-hazard 7.Winter Weather Safety: During — NOAA/National Weather Service — https://www.weather.gov/safety/winter-during 8.Winter Storm Safety; Frozen Pipes — American Red Cross — https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types- of-emergencies/winter-storm.html ; https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/winter- storm/frozen-pipes.html 9.February 2021 Winter Storm-Related Deaths, Texas — Texas DSHS, 30 dic. 2021 — https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/news/ updates/SMOC_FebWinterStorm_MortalitySurvReport_12-30-21.pdf 10.Winter Storm 2021 survey — Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston — https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2021/ march-2021/03292021-hobby-winter-storm.php 11.Citywide Boil Water Notice (feb. 2021) — SAWS — https://newsroom.saws.org/citywide-boil-water-notice-in-place 12.When Rivers Rise Fast: Your Flood Toolkit — San Antonio River Authority — https://www.sariverauthority.org/blog-news/when-rivers-rise- fast-your-flood-toolkit-resources-to-stay-informed-and-prepared/ 13.Bexar County and the San Antonio River Authority unveil interactive flood safety technology — Texas Public Radio, 20 may. 2026 — https:// www.tpr.org/news/2026-05-20/bexar-county-and-the-san-antonio-river-authority-unveil-interactive-flood-safety-technology 14.SAFD's most dangerous low-water crossings — San Antonio Report, 18 may. 2026 — https://sanantonioreport.org/san-antonio-safd-most- dangerous-low-water-crossings-severe-weather/ 15.Bexar County secures state funds for flood warning sirens — San Antonio Report, 5 abr. 2026 — https://sanantonioreport.org/bexar-county- secures-state-funds-flood-warning-sirens/ 16.Get Emergency Notifications (REAN / AlertSA) — Bexar County — https://www.bexar.org/2090/Get-Emergency-Notifications 17.City of San Antonio Shares Heat Safety Reminders and Tips — Ciudad de San Antonio, 2026 — https://www.sa.gov/Directory/News- Releases/City-of-San-Antonio-Shares-Heat-Safety-Reminders-and-Tips-2026 18.Parked Cars Get Hot Fast (NHTSA) — City of Arlington, TX, jun. 2026 — https://www.arlingtontx.gov/News-Articles/2026/June/NHTSA- Parked-Cars-Get-Hot-Fast-And-Can-Be-Deadly 19.I-37 Contraflow — TxDOT — https://www.txdot.gov/content/dam/docs/trf/hurricane-preparation/i37-contraflow.pdf 20.San Antonio declared a disaster area, prepares for evacuees — Texas Public Radio, 25 ago. 2017 — https://www.tpr.org/news/2017-08-25/ san-antonio-declared-a-disaster-area-prepares-for-evacuees 21.Anniversary of record-setting 2016 hail storm in San Antonio — KENS 5 — https://kens5.com/article/weather/anniversary-of-record- setting-2016-hail-storm-in-san-antonio-a-reminder-to-stay-prepared/273-ebb2113f-8b6e-4206-8cc4-e4fc5f51956a 22.5.4 magnitude earthquake hits West Texas — KUT/Texas Public Radio, 16 nov. 2022 — https://www.kut.org/texas/2022-11-16/5-4- magnitude-earthquake-hits-west-texas-with-reports-of-shaking-stretching-to-austin 23.Edwards Aquifer falls to historic low levels yet again — KSAT, 17 oct. 2025 — https://www.ksat.com/weather/2025/10/17/edwards-aquifer- falls-to-historic-low-levels-yet-again/ 24.Ready.gov (Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Extreme Heat, Winter Weather, Wildfires, Earthquakes) — FEMA — https://www.ready.gov/es
