Emergency Management Practices in Texas

The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs has established interdisciplinary research on policy problems as the core of its educational program. A major part of this program is the nine-month policy research project (PRP) in the course of which two or three faculty members from different disciplines direct the research of ten to twenty-five graduate students of diverse backgrounds on a policy issue of concern to a governmental agency. This “client orientation” brings the students face to face with administrators, legislators, and other officials active in the policy process and demonstrates that research in a policy environment demands special talents. It also illuminates the occasional difficulties of relating research findings to the world of political realities.This report on disaster management in Texas is the result of a policy research project conducted in 1999–2000 under grants from the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, and the FIRST Foundation (Foundation for Insurance Regulatory Studies in Texas). In May 1999, the Texas Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 68, creating a blue ribbon committee to study and recommend improvements to disaster management in Texas. The resolution identified the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs PRP as a resource to the committee.The report summarizes the findings of the students based on information provided independently to the class and from presentations and materials provided to the blue ribbon committee. The findings of the project are intended to aid the blue ribbon committee, the project sponsors, and other agencies in improving disaster management in Texas.