Hazard Assessment

· Describe the critical data needed for an effective risk assessment for your community.

· Using FEMA’s Hazard Profiling Worksheet (in the Learning Resources), create a risk assessment and rate the level of risk in your community.

· Explain the impacts these hazards had or might have on the community.

Palacios, Texas is a small town located on the shore of Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico, 90 miles southwest of Houston and halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi (Griffin, 2010). City-Data notes in 2014 the population of Palacios is 4,655; 60% are Hispanic, 25% are White, 9% are Asian and 4% are Black (2016). 51% of residents are male and 49% are female, the median age is 33 and the median income is $36,000. 24.1% of residents live in poverty and 7% of residents are unemployed (City-Data, 2016). It is also home to 250 species of birds, 21 types of fish and 450 shrimp boats, considered to be one of the largest fleets in the United States (Palacios Chamber of Commerce, 2011).

With a steady climate average high of 70s and 80s and 60s in the winter, Palacios’ agriculture is bountiful. Palacios Visitor Guide (n.d.) claims that farming produces $100,000,000 from corn, rice, cotton, and soybeans along with 60,000 heads of cattle (p. 16). The Visitor Guide also notes that Palacios maintains 3000 acres of farm raised shrimp and catfish (n.d., p. 16). The town is dedicated to the preservation of wildlife with countless wildlife refuges and preserves. There is one community owned acute care medical center with 17 beds and a 24-hour emergency room (Palacios Visitor Guide, n.d., p. 25). Additionally, Palacios maintains one medical clinic, two nursing homes, one dentist and one veterinarian.

The heart of Palacios is the seawall. The seawall is 1.5 miles along the bay shore where one side is water and one side maintains parks and playgrounds; along with a five-mile bike trail, a skateboard park and fishing piers (Palacios Chamber of Commerce, 2011). To roundup the small town, there are 31 churches, one public library, one technical college, 13 nonprofit organizations, and an independent school district servicing 718 square miles of southwest Matagorda and southeast Jackson counties containing one high school, one junior high school and two elementary schools.

Palacios is not exempt from disasters much like the rest of the country. The town has a below state tornado average of two a year which is also 18% below the average of the United States (City-Data, 2016) and the last tornado affecting the town is in 2012 (Homefacts, 2016). The town is not susceptible to earthquakes and the average of earthquakes is significantly below the Texas state and the National average. There have been zero earthquakes to affect Palacios since 1931 (Homefacts, 2016). Unfortunately, Palacios has had more natural disasters than the national average; 18 compared to 12 respectively. They have an extremely high risk and probability of being affected by hurricanes. Out of the 18 disasters, 12 of which were Presidentially declared disasters, 10 were because of a hurricane and two were because of tropical storm (City-Data, 2016).