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Topic: Hurricane and emergency preparedness for Harris County residentsWhat's covered: Flood safety, heat, cold, disaster kits, generator safety, mold, food safety, and moreLanguages: Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, and othersSpecial needs: Guides available for people with disabilities or medical needsSource: Harris County Public Health
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Good first step: Act Harris County Public Health emergency preparedness guides
Visit publichealth.harriscountytx.gov and search 'emergency preparedness' to download free guides in your language. Build your disaster kit before storm season starts.
Harris County Public Health has a free library of emergency preparedness guides covering almost every scenario Houston families face — from hurricane flooding and extreme heat to mold cleanup and generator safety. Most guides come in six or more languages, so you can share them with neighbors who speak Spanish, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, and many others.
Harris County Public Health offers downloadable guides on more than a dozen topics: boil water notices, cold weather safety, coping after a disaster, disaster kits, drinking water, extreme heat, floodwaters, food safety, generator safety, mold prevention, mosquitoes, pet preparedness, preventing illness, sewage cleanup, tetanus, and caring for people with disabilities or medical needs. The 'Disasters and Your Health' guide is available in the widest range of languages, including Dari, Pashto, Korean, Swahili, Yoruba, Igbo, Amharic, Hindi, Urdu, and Russian, in addition to the core six languages.
Visit the Harris County Public Health preparedness page and choose the topics most relevant to your household. Download or print the guides in your preferred language. Keep printed copies somewhere easy to find — power outages mean you may not be able to access your phone. Share copies with elderly neighbors, renters, or anyone in your circle who might not know these resources exist.
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These guides pair well with local resources like the City of Houston's Office of Emergency Management, your neighborhood's flood zone maps from Harris County Flood Control District, and cooling centers operated by the City during extreme heat events.
Houston sits in one of the most disaster-prone regions in the country. Flooding, extreme heat, cold snaps, and power outages can hit with little warning. Having the right information before an emergency — in a language you understand — can protect your health and your family's safety.
