UT-Health Science Center plans hurricane prep drill

To recognize the upcoming six-month Atlantic hurricane season that begins in June, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is hosting a hurricane prep drill.

According to a press release, safety officials are testing the flood doors designed to hold back rising water at the UTHealth Medical School. UTHealth Safety Vice President Robert Emery and bilingual specialist Eric Escobedo will be a part of the prep drill.

This hurricane prep drill will take place from 8-10 a.m. May 12 at the UTHealth Medical School located at 6431 Fannin near Ross Sterling Avenue at Entrance 18.

The purpose of this drill is to protect the UTHealth Medical School from hurricane damage. Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001 dumped 10 million gallons of floodwater into the medical school and caused $87 million in damage to property and contents.

Since the flooding, the university has added three layers of flood protection, which includes an outer berm, sump pit pumps, a hydrostatic wall that provides flood protection of up to one foot above the 500-year flood plain and flood doors.

Each door can be shut by just one person in less than five minutes. The seal status of each door can be monitored by technicians via remote computers to identify leaks.

The three-layer flood mitigation project cost more than $20 million.