Texas Collections Emergency Resource Alliance (TX-CERA)

An Educational Resource for Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery for Texas Cultural Heritage Institutions

A part of the FAIC Alliance for Response (AFR) Network.

Rapid Damage Response (Incident) Form for Cultural Heritage Institutions

This form collects information similarly requested by the Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF), the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response (NCAPER), and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) National Heritage Responders (NHR). The information gathered will help TX-CERA identify where assistance is sought, direct assistance where needed, understand critical needs, and coordinate response efforts with these national organizations.

Rapid Damage Response (Incident) Form for Cultural Heritage Institutions

Disaster Declaration DR-4879 Flood Response Resources

A major disaster declaration was made on July 6, 2025 (DR-4879) in response to the major flooding event that occurred in the Texas Hill Country. The counties currently included in the disaster declaration are: Bandera, Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Reeves, San Saba, Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson.

If you are a Texas cultural institution that has been impacted by the recent flooding, please complete the Rapid Damage Response (Incident) Form for Cultural Heritage Institutions. This form will take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.

Response and Salvage Resources for Cultural Heritage:

Your health and safety is priority number one (1) in any response situation. Individuals should not enter an affected area until emergency service personnel have declared the space to be safe. This may take time. Use this time to revisit your institution's emergency plan, contact and assemble your response team, and begin plans for your salvage efforts.

***Special Note from the American Institute for Conservation***

Even after the building is deemed safe to enter, you still have to consider the following hazards:

Exposed hazardous materials such as: asbestos from insulation, and other building materials, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in some transformers and in old fluorescent light bulbs, lead from lead paints, mercury and mercury vapor from fluorescent lights, broken glass, nails and other debris.
Beyond building issues, the collections themselves may also be hazardous. Zoological collections may contain residues of old pesticides including heavy metals such as arsenic and mercuric compounds, or other pesticides like DDT, paradichlorobenzene, or naphthalene. Specimens themselves may be stored in formaldehyde, ethanol, and/or isopropanol.
Flood waters may also have left hazardous residues such as sewage or heavy metals.

Resources:

ARCS - Safety First! Personal Protective Equipment for Collections Emergencies
SI - PRICE - Emergency Documentation
NHR Tip Sheet - Health and Safety After Floods
NHR Tip Sheet - Removing Large Paper Items from Flat Files
NHR Tip Sheet - Drying Wet Collections & Buildings
NHR Tip Sheet - Evacuating Collections: What You Should Know
CCAHA - Salvaging Photograph Collections / Salvaging Photographs (Spanish)
CCAHA - Salvaging Books
CCAHA - Freezing & Drying of Books, Paper and Photographic Material
CCAHA - Salvaging Art on Paper / Salvaging Art on Paper (Spanish)
NSFA - First Aid for Water Damage (Films, Tapes and Discs)
Image Permanence Institute - Response and Recovery of Fine-Art Inkjet Prints during Water Emergencies

FEMA - Save Your Family Treasures - Fact Sheets Available in English and Spanish
Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC) - Salvage at a Glance by Betty Walsh
Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) - Preservation Leaflets
National Archives - Objects Recovery
FAIC - Emergency Response and Salvage App - Apple Version
NHR Tip Sheet - Working With Recovery Vendors: What You Should Know
FAIC - Find A Conservator
TX-CERA Quick Guide to Wet Salvage Posters - Books, Inorganic Objects, Magnetic & Optical Media, Paintings, Photographic Materials, Skin & Leather
SAAF - Documenting in Times of Crisis: A Resource Kit

Salvage Videos:

FAIC and NCPTT - How to Salvage Wet Framed Photographs (12:29)
FAIC and NCPTT - How to Salvage Wet Clothing (9:18)
GHF - Rescuing Textiles After a Flood
GHF - Rescuing Heirloom Furniture After Flood
GHF - Rescuing Heirloom Books After Flood
GHF - Rescuing Heirloom Photo Recovery
Heritage Preservation Video - Getting Started (11:09)
Heritage Preservation Video - Water Segment (10:50)
Heritage Preservation Video - Mold (7:58)
Heritage Preservation Video - Mud (7:33)
Heritage Preservation Video - Corrosion (6:30)
Heritage Preservation Video - Broken Objects (3:29)
Heritage Preservation Video - Hazardous Materials (6:37)

(Visit the Resources Page for additional material.)

Wildfire Resources

TDEM Has Shared the Following Wildfire Resources:

Wildfire / Soot Resources for Cultural Heritage:

NEDCC - Recommended Wildfire Resources for Cultural Heritage Organizations
NARA - Fire Safety Self Inspection Form for Cultural Institutions
SI - PRICE - Emergency Documentation
Chicora Foundation, Inc. - Protecting Your Institution From Wild Fires: Planning Not To Burn And Learning To Recover
TX-CERA - Soot Removal Resource
FEMA - After the Fire: Advice For Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures
Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums - Ash Cleanup for Museums
Tru Vue - Disaster Recovery: Fire and Soot Damage
Heritage Preservation Video - Soot & Ash (7:00)
Webinar: RCWR - Hands On! Detection and Cleaning of Soot
FAIC - Find A Conservator
FAIC - Fire Smoke, Soot, and Ash Recovery Tips
FAIC - NHR After the Fire: Health and Safety Resources
FAIC - NHR After the Fire: Objects Salvage
FAIC - NHR After the Fire: Book and Paper Salvage

(Visit the Resources Page for additional material.)

Storm Resources

Response and Salvage Resources for Cultural Heritage:

SI - PRICE - Emergency Documentation
FEMA - Save Your Family Treasures - Fact Sheets Available in English and Spanish
Western Association for Art Conservation (WAAC) - Salvage at a Glance by Betty Walsh
Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) - Preservation Leaflets
National Archives - Objects Recovery
FAIC - Emergency Response and Salvage App - Apple Version
NHR Tip Sheet - Working With Recovery Vendors: What You Should Know
FAIC - Emergency (CAP) Program
FAIC - Find A Conservator
TX-CERA Quick Guide to Wet Salvage Posters - Books, Inorganic Objects, Magnetic & Optical Media, Paintings, Photographic Materials, Skin & Leather

(Visit the Resources Page for additional material.)

Emergency Grant and Funding Opportunities

This is a rotating section of available disaster planning, response, and recovery grants or other funding opportunities for Cultural Institutions, Historic Sites, Museums, Archives or Special Collections.

Emergency Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program - The Emergency CAP is more flexible in that it does not adhere to the annual schedule of the regular CAP program. The goal is to help museums in federally declared disaster areas receive post-disaster collections care recommendations from conservation and building professionals on an expedited basis.
Texas Library Association (TLA) Disaster Relief Fund - The Texas Library Association awards grants to libraries impacted by natural disasters. Grants range from $2,500 to $5,000 and can be used for technology, facility repair, collections, furnishings, or other needs related to storm damage. Academic, public, school and special libraries are eligible to receive assistance.
Society of American Archivists Foundation's (SAAF) National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives (NDRFA) - SAAF/NDRFA offers grants of up to $5,000 available for immediate recovery efforts to help navigate the challenging aftermath of a disaster. Applications are processed quickly, with grants typically awarded within 7–10 business days. Don't hesitate to seek help: review the guidelines and submit your application to access the support you need to restore and preserve your valuable collections.