By the time Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm in the early morning of Thursday, Aug. 27, the University of Texas Police at Houston (UT Police) had been readied to respond to high water rescues, security for damaged buildings or threats that may come from prolonged power outages, and transporting key personnel and supplies as circumstances necessitated.

Thankfully, the adverse weather conditions that could have impacted our community never came for the vast majority of the region.

For days, area residents watched as Laura barreled toward the Gulf Coast, attaining wind speeds of 150 mph before eventually making its impact east of the Texas-Louisiana border. 

Although Houston was forecast to be spared a direct hit, UT Police stood prepared to respond to emergencies if the storm and it's were to wobble further west returning Houston to its path of destruction. 

In preparation for deteriorating weather conditions, UT Police High Water Evacuation Vehicles were placed on standby and by 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, all UT Police Ride-Out personnel had been notified and were ready for activation. By 6 p.m., the Special Operations Center (SOC) was online and officers were closely monitoring the fast-moving storm.

Ultimately, there was no storm-related damage reported in the Texas Medical Center. The MD Anderson Woodlands location, however, was affected by a widespread power outage in Montgomery County. Appointments at this location were either rescheduled or relocated to another Houston-area location for the remainder of the week.