San Patricio County launches public hurricane-planning GIS tool and data viewer

San Patricio County on Monday demonstrated a new public-facing geographic information system that county officials said will let residents check evacuation zones, weather alerts, flood plains and local parcel data online.

The county judge introduced Colton, the county’s GIS technician, who showed commissioners and the public a hurricane planning tool available via the county website. Colton said the tool displays evacuation zones that "will light up on the map" when zones are ordered and pulls in National Weather Service alerts such as flash flood warnings in near real time. "You can search your address to find out what zone that you live in," he said.

The map also includes county layers for commissioner precincts, voting districts, ZIP-code boundaries and school districts; Colton demonstrated that selecting a parcel can surface the school district, websites and contact details. He said parcel outlines are drawn from the appraisal district and that his data updates when the appraisal district updates its records. "I communicate with the appraisal district regularly, and the data that I have is directly tied to what they have," he said.

Judge David Krebs praised the work and framed the tool as a convenience for residents who previously had to visit multiple offices to find boundaries. "This is gonna be a hurricane system. . . . So I wanted Colton to come in here and explain this to everybody," Krebs said, adding the county is investing in technology so "citizens can be more involved in what's happening in this county." Commissioner Ruben Gonzalez and other commissioners asked brief operational questions about ETJs and city boundary data; Colton said ETJs can be added and that city-limit boundaries are included where available.

County officials also demonstrated a public data viewer that includes historical storm tracks, storm-surge layers and flood maps tied to FEMA nationwide datasets. Colton said the county plans to add elevation layers and more land-use detail.

The judge and commissioners said the tool will reduce the need for in-person visits to the appraisal district or city halls for many routine boundary and flood-zone questions. The GIS application is posted on the county website for public use.

Less critical details: Colton did not provide an exact rollout schedule for additional layers, and commissioners asked that ETJs (extraterritorial jurisdiction boundaries) be added; Colton said those can be included as public-facing data if the court directs it.