Hurricane Beryl
HHS Bagged Ice
Location
Houston, Texas
Completion Year
2024
Client
Texas Health & Human Services
Scope
35 Refrigerated Trailers
On July 8, 2024, Hurricane Beryl made landfall southeast of Houston near Matagorda, leaving approximately 3 million Texas homes without electricity. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) issued two purchase orders to SLS to provide Houston-area residents with bagged ice to help keep food cold and help citizens stay cool without electricity and air conditioning.
The SLS Response team mobilized 35 refrigerated trailers to haul and store approximately 1,353,120 pounds of ice. The ice was distributed to residents from a Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Resource Staging Area (RSA) at NRG Stadium. Ice procured from ice plants in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee was delivered within 12 to 18 hours of each request. Each trailer held an average of 40,922 pounds of ice.
SLS holds the HHSC statewide contingency contract to provide bagged ice (cubed or crushed) and refrigerated trailers in the event of an emergency or disaster.
Hurricane Beryl caused widespread property damage throughout Southeast Texas, prompting disaster proclamations for Matagorda, Wharton, Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Galveston Counties. The contract activation is ongoing as of July 31, 2024.
