- Home
- Your Government
- Departments
- Emergency Management
- Know Your Hazards
Know Your Hazards
In McKinney, we face many types of hazards, including severe weather, hazardous materials, pandemics and terrorism. Thinking about and knowing what kind of hazards you as a resident of McKinney are at risk for gives you the upper hand when preparing for and responding to a disaster.
Earthquakes
A severe earthquake striking McKinney is not very likely, but we may experience a distant earthquake's effects. There is no indication that dormant fault lines in Texas are awakening and becoming active.
Energy Shortage
Power outages can result from planned events, like a rolling blackout, or unplanned incidents, such as severe weather or traffic accidents. Periods of high power usage, often experienced during summer and winter months, can result in planned rolling outages. During these times, consumers and businesses may be asked to reduce electricity use during peak electricity hours.
Watch Versus Warning
Power watch: issued when conservation is needed for a certain period of time. These can be issued when temperatures are expected to be extremely high or low and when unexpected generation outages appear.
Power warning: issued when conservation is critical to avoid rolling outages, which could lead to uncontrollable blackouts.
For more conservation tips, please visit the Public Utility Commission of Texas’ Powerful Advice website.
Pipeline Incidents
Includes all parts of a physical facility through which gas, hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide moves in transportation. Pipelines are made up of pipes, valves and other accessories that are attached to the pipe; pumping and/or compressor units; metering, regulating and delivery stations; holders and fabricated assemblies; and breakout tanks.
Pipeline safety can be greatly improved with the knowledge of where pipelines are located. This responsibility lies with construction companies and with you as a resident. Since pipelines are usually buried underground, line-markers and signs are placed to approximate their location, especially near intersections of streets, highways, railways or waterways.
Planning to Dig
If you are planning to dig for any reason, call the 811 call center at least 72 hours before beginning. The pipeline operator will locate and mark the specific location of the pipeline relative to the location of the planned excavation.
Pandemics / Epidemics
Pandemic or epidemic diseases may be common, easily treated and spread from person to person like the seasonal flu or Covid-19. Others may be spread from animals and insects like the West Nile Virus through mosquitoes.
Resources:
- Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
Provides updates on the spread of different diseases throughout the state. - Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Provides updates on the spread of different diseases on the national level. - Covid-19
Provides updates on county operations and community resources.
Mosquito-Borne Illnesses:
During the summer and fall in Texas, we see an increased number of mosquitos and mosquito-borne illness cases.
What to do before, during and after mosquito season:
Wildfires
A wildfire is an unplanned, unwanted fire burning in a natural area, such as a forest, grassland, or prairie. Three essential factors that dictate the behavior of a wildfire are the topography of the land, the fuel or available vegetation, and weather conditions.
The City of McKinney has many spaces that are considered "wildland-urban interface zones." In these types of spaces, human development meets and mixes with wildland. Homes and businesses located on or near wildland-urban interface zones are susceptible to wildfire.
The close proximity of homes and wildland fuels is a volatile mix that under the right conditions can see fires with catastrophic results.