Galveston County Daily News, May 9, 2007 GALVESTON - A triage tent was set up in the exhibits area of the San Luis Convention Center. Emergency vehicles from Beaumont to Dallas sought scarce parking along the seawall as emergency managers, volunteers and representatives of nongovernmental agencies gathered for the Texas State Hurricane Conference Tuesday. Col. Thomas A. Davis, Texas Department of Public Safety director, gazed out over the standing-room crowd that filled the main ballroom of the hotel. Those assembled filled every chair and overflowed to line the side and back walls. Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas cautioned the crowd that landfall of a major storm here is inevitable. "It's not a matter of if, but of when, we get a Cat 4 storm here," she said during her address to the conference. "It's absolutely essential to plan when the Gulf of Mexico is your front door." "When it comes to a major storm, we can't afford to fail." County Judge Jim Yarbrough said that he appreciated help from the state. He also said that he was pleased with local efforts. "The county is going to do a better job of working with UTMB, MHMR, the homeless coalition and others to create a safe, secure route off the island," he said. "But it will still be a long trip so that those who can leave early should do so when the time comes."