How Resiliency Hubs Increase Survivability in Emergencies
10/30/26 – Earlier this week, Chuck Stilwell of Harris County’s Community Flood Resilience Task Force and Joe Higgs of The Metropolitan Organization made a fascinating presentation to the Task Force about “Resiliency Hubs.”
Most Deaths Occur After the Storms
The presentation began by reviewing both obvious and hidden dangers after storms. The major surprise?
Most deaths occur 5-7 days AFTER a major storm.
Stilwell and Higgs
Power outages have become one of the leading cause of disaster-related deaths in the Gulf Coast region. Why? The effects of heat stress and unpowered medical equipment on unattended, vulnerable people. Recent examples include:
- 19 of 31 deaths in Hurricane Laura (Aug 2020)
- 700 deaths in Texas alone in Winter Storm Uri (Feb 2021);
- 30 of 36 deaths in Hurricane Ida (Aug 2021)
- 13 of 23 deaths during Hurricane Beryl (July 2024)
How Resiliency Hubs Help
Louisiana already has 20 resiliency hubs. Think of a facility owned and operated by an existing organization that provides space for relief services during a storm and/or the power outages that follow.
Example: A church powered by solar or gas generators, which heat/cool them. Churches usually have kitchens. And they know their neighborhoods, including vulnerable populations such as the elderly. They also have support networks that provide services they can tap into. But most important, they have willing and able volunteer groups.
Churches have all the key elements: space, power, and an organization.
Such resiliency hubs won’t replace the George R. Brown Convention Center. But they also don’t cost taxpayer money.
They are neighbors helping neighbors, caring for the most vulnerable within their communities. They can provide immediate relief, transportation, communication and other vital resources until power is back on and people can return to their homes.
Houston Already Has Several Resiliency Hubs
The West Street Recovery organization already maintains six resiliency hubs in NE Houston and one in SE Houston. Many are operated out of homes.
Harris County offers several facilities with independent power.
The Metropolitan Organization (TMO) has funded and started a resiliency hub in Kashmere Gardens at the New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and has several others in planning.
TMO hopes to provide coordination for existing hubs and develop a network that fills the gaps, especially in vulnerable areas.
To see the full presentation, click here.
We Need More Resiliency Hubs
No major storms struck us this year. But don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security. Who can forget the:
- Search for lodging after Harvey as 60,000+ people crammed into 65 temporary shelters?
- Twenty-two days without electricity after the eye of Hurricane Ike passed directly over Kingwood?
- Disastrous mass evacuation attempt before Hurricane Rita?
- Elevators that wouldn’t function in senior centers during Derecho power outages in 2024?
We can’t know when a disaster will strike. But we can plan for when it happens. As John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach said, “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” Words to LIVE by.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/30/2026
3349 Days since Hurricane Harvey
