Houston OEM outlines hurricane timeline, evacuation sequencing and preparedness steps

Brian Mason, director of the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management (OEM), told the joint Government Operations and Resilience Committee that hurricane preparation follows a structured timeline and that response actions are calibrated to when tropical-storm-force winds reach the coast.

Mason walked committee members through OEM—s action benchmarks (H-minus timelines), evacuation sequencing, continuity-of-operations planning and public guidance. He emphasized that not all storms behave the same: hurricane category alone does not determine surge or local impacts.

Why it matters: Mason said the city measures response timelines based on the arrival of tropical-storm-force winds (for example H-minus 96, H-minus 72), not only on projected landfall. He noted that some storms form quickly in the Gulf or Bay of Campeche and can provide as little as 32 to 72 hours of notice before impacts reach Houston.

Key preparedness principles: OEM told the…