Actually, this looks like fun.
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The frequency of these events has prompted Houston Community College to invest in an ambitious new training program for first responders, construction workers and business employees to lessen the deadly toil these disasters bring.
On Tuesday, HCC leaders unveiled their plans for the program that includes a $30 million resiliency operations center equipped with a 39-foot-wide swift water rescue channel, a 15-foot-deep dive area, and a 100-foot-long “rocky gorge” of boulders that are above and below the water surface to provide additional obstacle training.
“Our vision for this important initiative is to build a stronger, more resilient Houston where every Houstonian can be plan aware and response ready,” HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said at a news conference announcing the center. “Every business can prepare for the future.”
The disaster simulations part of the resiliency operations center is at the heart of this new program, which will train first responders and residents in how to tackle flooded residential streets that include obstacles like floating debris, underwater vehicles and downed power lines.
The center will include training in rescue vehicles and will be used year round to replicate various emergency situations.
“What a firefighter would go through with the coursework to get certification would be much different from a citizen,” Maldonado said. “But certainly citizens are going to be using that facility to have a better understanding of what flooding means, what could be in the water, what kind of contaminants, what kind of hidden drains can cause a problem for children. So it’s not going to be just for the high-level first responders.”
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