Hurricane Harvey Takes Aim At The Texas Gulf Coast

By JONGSUK

Hurricane HARVEY is hitting the TEXAS Coast today (8/25), "and is expected to bring as many as 35 inches of rainfall, destructive waves, and flood waters that could reach heights of 6-12 feet above ground level along the state's coast," the NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER said.

"Forecasters say HARVEY is on track to become a Category 3 hurricane with winds of at least 111 mph by the time it hits the middle TEXAS coast later FRIDAY or early SATURDAY."

From NOAA

How Is Radio Reacting?

According to Manager/Marketing & Communications KEVIN WONG, iHEARTMEDIA stations along the GULF COAST are working to bring breaking news and alerts to our listeners that are in the path of HURRICANE HARVEY, including CORPUS CHRISTI, HOUSTON and potentially SAN ANTONIO, AUSTIN and BEAUMONT this weekend. All CORPUS CHRISTI stations will simulcast News-Talk KTRH, which will provide wall-to-wall coverage on the storm. 24/7 NEWS GROUP will assume news hub operations for KTRH over the weekend, allowing the HOUSTON market to focus exclusively on local coverage.

CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR digital billboards in SAN ANTONIO and HOUSTON will promote emergency coverage from WOAI and KTRH, respectively. Targeted social media advertising will be used in SAN ANTONIO and HOUSTON to direct listeners to WOAI and KTRH for live coverage.

In addition to these efforts, other precautions have already been put into place. iHEARTMEDIA stations in BEAUMONT are prepared to simulcast KTRH should conditions worsen. Additionally, stations in AUSTIN have secured a semi-truck of ice and water that will deploy to the GULF COAST as soon as recovery efforts begin. Supplementary relief efforts are being prearranged.

iHEARTMEDIA/HOUSTON Dir./AM Programming BRYAN ERICKSON told ALL ACCESS, "KTRH went into long form coverage starting at 5a this morning on air, online at www.ktrh.com and on the iHEARTRADIO app. Our news, weather and traffic teams will be active 24/7 TFN."

iHEARTMEDIA National Programming Group Urban Brand Coordinator/PD for KQBT)/HOUSTON told ALL ACCESS, "Hurricane preparedness is what it's all about today. If necessary, we are prepared to deviate from normal programming. We have plans are in place for essential staff." 

COX MEDIA/HOUSTON Dir.Operations JOHNNY CHIANG said, "we’re in full emergency mode.  Talent huddled in hotel rooms across the street and will be available all weekend and into next week.  Dayparts are out the window, it’s all hands on deck.  All on air and Social content are information for our listeners."

MALKAN INTERACTIVE/CORPUS CHRISTI is prepping for the impact of HURRICANE HARVEY.  HARVEY, is expected to make landfall in CORPUS CHRISTI tonight (8/25) as a Category 3 hurricane.  MALKAN's NewsTalk KEYS-A has been interviewing city officials, including Mayor JOE MCCOMB, the city manager and public safety officials.

Today, as HARVEY approaches, MALKAN will have four essential personnel, including OM GINO FLORES, hunkered down in their studios and offices.  Top 40/Rhythmic KZFM (HOT Z95) has the strongest signal in their cluster and will serve as MALKAN's priority station with news updates, street closures, latest weather conditions and more.

NAB Pres./CEO GORDON SMITH, "NAB salutes TEXAS and GULF COAST broadcasters in the path HURRICANE HARVEY who are devoting enormous resources to keeping people safe this weekend. Local radio and TV stations play a unique role as first informers during emergency weather situations. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our GULF COAST friends and our public safety partners preparing for HARVEY and its aftermath."

COX MEDIA/HOUSTON Dir./Operations JOHNNY CHIANG tells ALL ACCESS, "We’re in full emergency mode. Talent, full-time and weekenders, huddled in hotel rooms across the street and will be available all weekend and into next week. Dayparts are out the window; it’s all hands on deck.  All on-air and Social content are information for our listeners."

IHEARTMEDIA Country KRYS/CORPUS CHRISTI, TX PD FRANK EDWARDS tells ALL ACCESS. "We are doing what we can. We have some staff out of town on vacation and also a staff member out on medical leave. That said, those of us here are working together to get info out. We have six stations in CORPUS CHRISTI, and our four FMs are 100,000 watt, so we cover most of the area that will (possibly) be impacted the hardest by HARVEY. We will be here this evening and overnight getting the info out."

Elsewhere in the LONE STAR state, iHEARTMEDIA Country KTEX/MCALLEN-BROWNSVILLE, TX PD JOJO CERDA says HARVEY was moving away from his market this morning, and the area is expecting heavy rain through this afternoon, but no severe weather. As a precaution, the station canceled all remotes for the weekend, but has since decided to go ahead with them, after determining its staff was not in danger. CERDA says he and his staff have been in close touch with local emergency authorities. Because of previous experience with this kind of weather, CERDA says the station has procedures in place, and his team has been preparing for the worst-case-scenario all week.

Concerts Canceled

COLDPLAY, MARY J. BLIGE and LADY ANTEBELLUM all canceled concerts in the area scheduled for this weekend.

COLDPLAY tweeted their announcement earlier today: “We really wanted to play tonight, but sitting here all together watching the news about the storm, we feel that we can’t ask anyone to put their safety at risk. So, sadly, we will have to postpone.”

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