Pasadena installs 30 new sirens for weather, chemical emergencies, after EF-3 tornado in 2023
PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been a little over two years since the City of Pasadena was hit by an EF-3 tornado in the middle of the afternoon. Two years later, 30 new sirens are standing tall across town.
The $1.3 million investment brings state-of-the-art sirens to the city. They sound, rotate, and even have flashing lights for those who are hard of hearing. The sirens also run on battery and solar power so they'll still work even if the power goes out.
City of Pasadena Emergency Management Coordinator Azell Carter credits his community for coming up with the idea, citing the best practice of having multiple ways to receive weather warnings.
"Our partners to the north of Texas, they use the sirens for a myriad of different things -- straight line winds, things of that nature. So that was also brought up to us by our citizens, 'Why don't you use your sirens for possible severe weather?'" Carter said.
Having outdoor warning sirens for weather is not a new concept, it's just rare for southeast Texas.
One reason why is that they are expensive to install and maintain.
The City of Houston used to have tornado sirens in the city up until the 1990s. These were the cold war era sirens and were taken out of commission due to the cost of upkeep.
RELATED: Lessons learned from the January 24 tornado
Tornado sirens are the most prevalent across Tornado Alley, the Midwest, and Southeast.
To mitigate any confusion, these sirens will double for industry and weather emergencies, as much of southeastern Harris County is a hub for the oil and gas industry.
"We're explicitly saying that we're going to use our sirens that we also use for chemical emergencies. They will also double to be used for shelter in place for severe weather activity as well," Carter said.
The sirens in Pasadena will be tested for the first time at noon on Saturday, Feb. 8. Then, the sirens will be tested weekly at noon each Saturday after that.
The City of Pasadena will also send out a push alert through their ReadyPasadena alert system ahead of each test so residents know it is a test.
Carter mentioned that they have been proactive with community messaging, reaching out to neighborhood HOAs, and several social media campaigns.
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