Texas Flood Registry

FAQs


Table of Contents:

  1. What is the Texas Flood Registry?
  2. What is the purpose of the Texas Flood Registry surveys?
  3. Who can respond to these surveys?
  4. Is the Texas Flood Registry only for people in Houston?
  5. Why should I take this survey if I was not affected by Hurricane Harvey or other major storms included in the surveys?
  6. How long will it take to complete this survey?
  7. Can I save the responses and return later?
  8. How will my participation in the Texas Flood Registry help our communities?
  9. Why should I provide my address?
  10. How do you ensure that my personally identifiable information is stored safely?
  11. Who will be able to see the data I provide?
  12. Does the survey collect information about citizenship or immigration status?
  13. Can a healthcare provider or insurance company access the data I provide for this survey?
  14. Will anyone from the registry re-contact me?
  15. What if I made a mistake while taking the survey and need to update my answers?
  16. Who can I contact if I have questions about the survey?
  17. How Do I Log In to the Texas Flood Registry Website?
  18. How Do I Log Out of the Texas Flood Registry Website?
  19. How Do I Change My Password?
  20. I tried to log in with my email address but the web page says that "No user with that email address exists"
  21. I am not able to log in. Were my answers saved?

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What is the Texas Flood Registry?

Formerly the Hurricane Harvey Registry, the Texas Flood Registry is a project that collects health, location, and exposure information from people affected by major storms. Initially created in response to Hurricane Harvey, the project now collects information on other major storms including Tropical Storm Imelda. This project is led by Dr. Katherine Ensor from Rice University. This project is funded by the Cullen Trust for Healthcare, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the National Institutes of Health.

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What is the purpose of the Texas Flood Registry surveys?

The Texas Flood Registry surveys will collect health, location, and exposure information from people living in areas affected by major storms. This information can help identify health trends and risks associated with major storms. The registry will also support planning for future natural disasters and policy making by city officials.

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Who can respond to these surveys?

You can take a survey about a major storm if you are 18 or older and lived in the impact zone of a major storm when the storm hit. Additional surveys may be directed to specific groups of individuals (for example, first responders from other states who worked in affected areas).

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Is the Texas Flood Registry only for people in Houston?

No. It does not matter what part of the impact zone they are in. We encourage all people, whether impacted severely, lightly, or not at all, to share their experience.

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Why should I take this survey if I was not affected by Hurricane Harvey or other major storms included in the surveys?

In research studies, scientists usually compare people who have been affected by an event to people who have not been affected. If you have not been affected, your responses provide valuable information for making this comparison.

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How long will it take to complete this survey?

After reading the consent form, it will take you about 10-15 minutes to complete the core survey.

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Can I save the responses and return later?

No. If you navigate away from a survey while completing it, any answers will be lost.

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How will my participation in the Texas Flood Registry help our communities?

The information in the registry will help us understand the health effects of Hurricane Harvey and other major storms. We will share reports with you that tell you what we are learning from the registry. The reports will also be shared with government officials to guide response efforts and plan for the future of our communities.

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Why should I provide my address?

One goal of this survey is to link environmental information with health information. An example is linking air pollution data to the address where you lived during a major storm. We cannot do this without residential address information.

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How do you ensure that my personally identifiable information is stored safely?

Your personally identifiable information (PII) is stored on servers that meet the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

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Who will be able to see the data I provide?

Only Texas Flood Registry staff and affiliates will be able to see the data you provide. All of these people have extensive training on data confidentiality and data security.

The Registry team may share data with policy makers or health/housing researchers. Usually, we remove identifying information such as name, date of birth, and address. Researchers who want access to identifying information will need permission from their home institution and Rice University. Rice experts on security and privacy will look at every request carefully. Rice will only agree if we are sure we can minimize risks to your privacy.

We plan to report on what we learn from the registry, but we will not include any information that would identify you or any other participants.

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Does the survey collect information about citizenship or immigration status?

No.

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Can a healthcare provider or insurance company access the data I provide for this survey?

No. Only approved Texas Flood Registry staff and affiliates can access your personally identifiable information. Only data that have been summarized will be made public.

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Will anyone from the registry re-contact me?

We will only re-contact you if you agree to be re-contacted. We will only re-contact you regarding new resources for those affected by Harvey and other major storms or for additional survey questions.

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What if I made a mistake while taking the survey and need to update my answers?

If you believe you made an error while taking the survey, use the survey’s "Previous" button to go back to any page and update the information you provided. If you have already submitted the survey, we do not currently offer a way for you to modify your answers. For now, you can notify us by email at FloodRegistry@rice.edu that your survey answers need to be modified. Include the email address you used to register but DO NOT provide any detail about what needs to be modified. We will contact you later and provide a way to securely make these changes.

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Who can I contact if I have questions about the survey?

You can send an email to FloodRegistry@rice.edu. Though you should identify yourself in the email, please do not provide any personal health information.

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How Do I Log In to the Texas Flood Registry Website?

Go to https://floodregistry.rice.edu/login and enter the email address you used when you registered, then enter your password.

If this is the first time you are logging in, a temporary password has been created for you and has been sent in a message to the above email address right after you completed the survey. If you cannot find that email message, you can reset your password by going to https://floodregistry.rice.edu/reset_password.

If you are using a public or shared computer and have logged in, remember to log out after viewing the website.

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How Do I Log Out of the Texas Flood Registry Website?

Click or tap on the Logout link.

If you use a desktop, laptop, or tablet with a wide screen, the Logout link is located at the top right corner of your browser window.

If you use a smartphone or a tablet with a narrow screen, you will see a button with three horizontal lines in the top right corner of your browser window. Click on that button to reveal a menu, then click on Logout from that menu.

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How Do I Change My Password?

If you forgot your password, first go to https://floodregistry.rice.edu/reset_password to reset your password.

If you know your password, first log in by going to https://floodregistry.rice.edu/login, then click on the My Surveys link in the top menu. In the “My Surveys” page, click on the “Change Password” button, enter your current password and your new password twice, and click on Update.

NOTE: On devices with narrow screens (smart phones and small tablets), the My Surveys link is found within the Menu button. This button has three horizontal lines. Clicking on it will reveal menu options, including the My Surveys link.

If you are using a public or shared computer and have logged in, remember to log out after viewing the website.

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I tried to log in with my email address but the web page says that "No user with that email address exists"

Please note that the portion of an e-mail address before the @ symbol is case-sensitive. For example, in this registry, john.smith@email.com is different from John.Smith@email.com. Please enter your email address exactly as you entered it when you registered. Note that some mobile devices automatically capitalize some letters.

If you are having trouble logging in or do not remember the e-mail address you registered with, please consult the welcome e-mail from the Texas Flood Registry with the subject "Texas Flood Registry Registration Confirmation". It contains the e-mail used to register your account.

If you are still unable to log in, please contact the Texas Flood Registry team at FloodRegistry@rice.edu.

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I am not able to log in. Were my answers saved?

If you clicked on the Complete button at the end of the survey and were shown a page thanking you for your participation, your answers were saved; you do not need to log into your account for your answers to be considered. The purpose of logging in is to see what surveys you have completed so far and what new surveys are available. Moreover, as new surveys come in the future, we would notify you by email if you agreed to be re-contacted.


The Texas Flood Registry is a joint venture of Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, Chambers County, Corpus Christi Nueces County Public Health District, Environmental Defense Fund, Fort Bend County Health & Human Services, Harris County Public Health Department, Houston Health Department, Montgomery County, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Victoria Emergency Management, and Rice University. It is funded by the Environmental Defense Fund, the Cullen Trust for Healthcare, and the National Institutes of Health. Please send any comments or questions to FloodRegistry@rice.edu. — Privacy Policyv1.14