First responders from all over Texas meet at Coastal Bend Hurricane Conference

The official start to hurricane season is a month away, and on Wednesday more than a thousand first responders from all over met here in the Coastal Bend to help prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

People filled the Richard Borchard Fairgrounds for the Annual Coastal Bend Hurricane Conference.

Joe Torillo, retired New York City Lieutenant was the keynote speaker for the event.

Torillo is a survivor of the 9/11 attack in 2001, and on Wednesday, he gave those in the emergency fields some valuable words based on his experience.

“Maybe they would do the same thing in their community, it is always nice to meet somebody who has been through a horrific tragedy that gives them the strength to want to do it for their people in their community,” Torillo said.

“Corpus Christi and all along the Gulf Coast, we experience hurricanes, so no matter a blue sky day or not, we are constantly in the mood of being prepared,” Dee Hawkis, Nueces County's Emergency Management Director said.

Hawkins said they review past storms and one of the things they work on is how to improve their response time.

“This kind of conference is important to us because it gives us the new things that are out there that we can use to help mitigate or to improve our preparedness plan and it gives us a chance to talk to our peers,” Hawkins said.

Nueces County Judge Connie Scott said this two-day conference gives everyone a chance to network and share their ideas.

“We come together, because just as we said up there, when you have a storm or a declaration, this isn’t a political thing, it is not a democrat or republican, it is not an us versus them, we come together as neighbors and we all help each other out,” Scott said.

“The people here are the doers from different agencies and organizations, these are the people that will work together during a large incident,” R.J. Thomas, The Homeland Security Coordinator for the Coastal Bend Council of Governments, said.

Thomas said this conference gives those on the front line the exposure they need to be prepared.

“We talk about our plans, we talk about our different agencies, maybe we have new people in our agency, other people move from one agency to another,” Thomas said. “We learn what the resources are, how they can be activated, and how they can be utilized appropriately after a disaster.”

Part of the conference allows the attendees to participate in a hands-on simulation exercise.

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