CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Hurricane season starts this weekend and preparations are well underway at the Texas State Aquarium's Wildlife Response Operations Center to ensure animals across the state remain safe during severe weather events.
The center is the largest one in the United States with a mission to rescue and respond to wildlife in need of care. It is essentially the nations hub.
"A few weeks ago we started to review our hurricane plan for the 2025 season," said Jesse Gilbert, President and CEO of the Texas State Aquarium.
Wildlife can be significantly displaced during storms, which is why the aquarium's hurricane plan is structured around three key phases.
"Prepare, respond, recover," Gilbert said.
The preparation phase begins with coordination efforts across various agencies.
"How do we integrate with other community partners around wildlife. So meeting with state agencies, federal agencies, local agencies," Gilbert said.
That preparation includes ensuring a safe location to ride out storms.
"Our campus at the aquarium is built for big big storms," Gilbert said.
Gilbert noted that Tropical Storm Alberto left North Beach with historic flooding, prompting enhanced safety measures.
"We've put in new high water mitigation response for the aquarium to make sure we're as protected as possible," Gilbert said.
All indoor facilities are positioned approximately 18 feet in the air to handle historic sea level rise. Emergency generators, power, and water systems are also stored at this elevation.
"Any animal outside has a home inside the aquarium when the storm starts bearing down so about 48 hours before landfall we will start moving those animals inside," Gilbert said.
The aquarium also has 40 staff members who remain on-site during storms to care for the animals.
"This is like a small city. We can become completely isolated for about 7-10 days," Gilbert said.
After the storm passes, the response phase begins.
"What were the impacts to sea turtles, birds, manatees, maybe dolphins," Gilbert said.
Response crews deploy 24 hours after a storm once winds and water conditions improve to assess wildlife impacts.
"Was there something where maybe a boat got capsized and released fuel in the water," Gilbert said.
The final phase focuses on recovery, not just for animals at the aquarium but for wildlife throughout the region.
"This is the country's largest coastal wildlife rescue program so we have to be ready to go," Gilbert said.
The facility has assisted various animals from across the state and nation, including birds injured during Hurricane Beryl last year and sea turtles pushed into jetties.
"They all have very specific needs post storm. A sea turtle's needs are different from a bird's needs so how are we ready for that and making sure we can recover the community so it's a dynamic time but we're ready to go," Gilbert said.
Gilbert says there's something to learn with every hurricane and tropical storm that helps improve and adapt their procedures to continue keeping wildlife and animals safe year-round.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
