Emergency Resources
In an immediate emergency — a medical crisis, a fire, a crime in progress, or water coming into your home — call 911 now. The rest of this page is for everything around that moment: the right number when it's not a 911 call, live flood and road conditions, how to report outages, and where to find help after a disaster.
Numbers to save
Put these in your phone before you need them. In a widespread storm, calls can fail while text and data still work — 911 also takes texts in Harris County, and most services below have a website.
One thing that trips up new residents: Crosby is unincorporated Harris County, so Houston's 311 line doesn't cover it. For county problems that aren't emergencies — debris, drainage, stray animals — start with the sheriff's non-emergency line or 211.
911— police, fire, or medical emergency — call or text (Harris County supports text-to-911)713-221-6000— Harris County Sheriff's Office non-emergency line — the law enforcement agency covering Crosby1-800-222-1222— Poison Control — free, 24/7, interpreters available (poison.org)988— Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text, free, 24/7211— 211 Texas — community resources, shelter locations, disaster assistance
Weather alerts
These are the official warning channels for Crosby and northeast Harris County. Also keep Wireless Emergency Alerts turned on in your phone's settings — tornado and flash-flood warnings come through even when cell networks are congested.
crosbynews.com/alerts— active NWS alerts for Crosby, refreshed every 15 minutes — also an RSS feed at /alerts.xmlReadyHarris— Harris County emergency management — sign up for official emergency alerts by call, text, or emailNWS Houston/Galveston— the National Weather Service office that issues warnings for Crosby
Flooding & high water
Crosby floods from its bayous and the San Jacinto River. Never drive into water on a road — turn around, don't drown. Most flood deaths around Houston are people in vehicles.
crosbynews.com/water— live levels for Cedar Bayou, the San Jacinto River, Luce Bayou, and nearby gauges, with NWS flood stagesHarris County Flood Warning System— county rainfall and channel gauges with live inundation mappingHarris County Flood Education Mapping Tool— look up whether an address sits in a mapped floodplainHarris County Flood Control District— floodplain maps and drainage projectsFloodSmart.gov— the National Flood Insurance Program — homeowner's policies don't cover flood damage, and a new flood policy typically takes 30 days to take effect, so buy before a storm is named
Roads & traffic
Check before you drive in severe weather — high-water spots close Crosby's routes fast:
Houston TranStar— real-time Houston-area traffic, incidents, and high-water road closuresDriveTexas— TxDOT statewide highway conditions and closures
Power & gas outages
If a power line is down or you smell gas, get clear of the area and call 911 first — then the utility. Most of Crosby gets electric delivery and natural gas from CenterPoint Energy.
CenterPoint Outage Center— report an electric outage and track restoration on the outage map713-207-2222— CenterPoint electric — report outages and downed power lines888-876-5786— CenterPoint natural gas — report a gas leak or gas odor after you've left the area
Industrial incidents
Crosby has chemical plants of its own and sits near the east Harris County industrial corridor. When you see smoke or flaring or hear a boom, the CAER Line carries recorded updates straight from area plants and emergency officials — and any shelter-in-place order comes through ReadyHarris and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
281-476-2237— East Harris County CAER Line — recorded industrial-incident and flaring updates, 24/7EHCMA / CAER Online— the same updates on the web, from the East Harris County Manufacturers Association
Shelter & disaster recovery
When a disaster displaces people, shelters are announced through ReadyHarris, local media, and the organizations below:
American Red Cross— open shelters, emergency supplies, and recovery help — 1-800-733-2767DisasterAssistance.gov— apply for FEMA assistance after a federally declared disaster — or call 1-800-621-3362211 Texas— dial 211 for shelter, food, housing, and disaster recovery programs
Before the storm
Hurricane season runs June through November. Crosby sits inland of the coastal storm-surge evacuation zones, but coastal evacuations route through northeast Harris County — expect heavy traffic on US-90 and I-10 when zones toward the coast are called. Build a kit (water, food, medicine, flashlights, batteries) before a storm has a name.
H-GAC evacuation planning— the regional Zip-Zone hurricane evacuation maps — check whether an address is in a zone (Crosby isn't, but family toward the coast may be)Ready.gov— FEMA's preparedness guides — build a kit, make a family plancrosbynews.com/weather— the Crosby forecast — check timing before severe weather arrives
About this page
Every link and number here was checked when this page was last updated, but services change — if a number stops working, dial 211 and they can route you, and please tell us so we can fix it.
crosbynews.com is an independent project, not a government service. This page is a directory of official resources, not a live status board — in a life-threatening situation, don't read a website: call 911.
/contact— report a broken link or a number that's changed