The city of Irving in Texas, situated within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, is vulnerable to many natural hazards, including extreme heat, tornadoes, hail, severe storms, earthquakes, and flooding. “We have everything other than maybe avalanches,” Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, told The Guardian. “Every other climate disaster you can think of, like wildfires – you name it, we have it.”

Irving is especially exposed to heat, drought, and precipitation, with these risks likely increasing, according to ClimateCheck, a platform that provides climate risk data and solutions for the real estate industry and other stakeholders. In addition, the city also experiences significant risks for wildfires and floods.

The city’s flooding risk is not surprising, as Texas has a “flash flood alley.” Although Irving is not part of the Texas Hill Country where the flash flood alley is located, the city still gets its share of flooding. ClimateCheck data show that buildings in Irving that are at risk of flooding have an average of about 37% chance of a flood about 1.5 feet deep over 30 years. In a separate report, nonprofit research and technology organization First Street states that there are more than 5,200 (10.6%) properties in Irving that have a risk of flooding over the next 30 years. Floods in Irving typically come from three sources: overflow of rivers and streams, heavy rainfall or snowmelt, or seawater inundation of coastal areas.

When it comes to the heat risk in Irving, ClimateCheck data indicates that the city’s hottest days will increase from around seven days in 1990 to about 38 days by 2050. A day is considered to be the hottest if the temperature exceeds 102.3ºF (39.06ºC). The platform gives Irving an Extreme Heat Risk rating of 94 out of 100.

Drought projections around 2050 are also higher than around 2015 due to a higher average water stress. ClimateCheck gives Irving a High Drought Risk of 61 out of 100. Meanwhile, wildfire risk on the most dangerous fire weather days in the city is also high, with the number of days expected to increase by 2050. There is a significant risk of wildfire in about 49% of buildings in Irving.

With all of these in mind, how is Irving facing these extreme natural weather events? What are the city’s preparations to mitigate these extreme weather and flooding risks?

Irving’s Disaster Preparedness Education Program

Preparedness education is a vital part of disaster management. It equips individuals and communities alike to take proactive action to minimize their vulnerability and reduce the impact of disasters, including injuries, loss of life, and property damage. Because of their enhanced ability to respond to disasters more effectively, both individuals and communities can recover more quickly after a disaster.

In Irving, the Office of Emergency Management undertakes the crucial role of delivering preparedness education to the city’s residents. The department gives public disaster preparedness education presentations that cover topics, such as basic disaster preparedness and business preparedness. It also hands out public education materials on the types of hazards affecting the city, building a disaster preparedness plan, creating a Go Kit, and how residents can get involved.

Outdoor Warning System

Irving has a warning system designed to alert people who may be outdoors when a disaster strikes. This is the city’s outdoor warning system, which consists of 26 sirens that are strategically scattered across Irving. The system is activated during the following scenarios:

There are sustained winds of more than 70 mph,
There are reports of hail bigger than 1.5 inches in diameter,
When a reliable source reports a tornado or funnel cloud, and
When the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a tornado warning.

When Irving activates its outdoor warning system, the sirens blare for three minutes straight. They will continue to emit a steady sound until the danger has passed. Despite the noise, however, individuals who are indoors or in a noisy area may not hear the sirens’ sound as the system is only meant to warn those who are outside.

As soon as they hear the sirens, people are expected to seek shelter indoors immediately and tune in to local media for more information about the disaster.

iAlert Emergency Notification System

This is a mass notification system that Irving started using in 2010. Using a reverse dialing telephone method, iAlert notifies those residents who subscribed (i.e., those who registered) of any critical emergency information. In addition, iAlert can also send Irving residents notifications about road closures, power outages, water outages, crime alerts, air quality issues, and mosquito control.

Locals can receive these notifications or alerts via email, as text messages, or as calls to their home, cell or business phones. Irving can even send notifications to hearing impaired receiving devices.

Irving’s Backup Communication Run by Volunteers

The city has a volunteer group that provides backup communication during disasters and other emergencies. This is the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)/Amateur RAdio Emergency Services (ARES). The group is composed entirely of volunteers who are FCC-licensed radio operators.

They provide this vital service upon the request of the city, typically when there is a potential severe weather threat. After identifying the threat, the group informs the city’s Office of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, the sponsoring agency, and its supported agency about the threat so that these agencies can issue a public warning.

Flood Risk Protection

Irving’s Municipal Drainage Utility (MDU) is a division of the city’s Capital Improvement Program that is funded by a drainage utility fee, which is collected from the water bills of residents and businesses. It is responsible for everything that relates to stormwater and performs three key functions:

Reducing the city’s flood risk,
Improving the function and health of stormwater infrastructure, and
Protecting the surface water quality of the city’s creeks, streams, and waterways.

In addition, the MDU is also responsible for the development, coordination, and administration of procedures and programs that improve Irving’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. It is split into three divisions, each with their own set of responsibilities:

The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) division cleans and maintains the city’s stormwater infrastructure, including underground stormwater pipes, natural and concrete channels, curb inlets, and bank stabilization and erosion control projects. It also conducts desilting operations in floodways and ponds.
The Engineering division redesigns undersized stormwater infrastructure systems, manages large channel projects like the Upper Delaware Creek and Embassy Channels in order to remove residences and businesses from the 100-year floodplain, and maps, models, and analyzes drainage areas.

The Compliance division, together with the Texas Commission on Environment Quality, manages the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit of the city.