LONGVIEW, Texas — After strong winds caused significant damage throughout the city Wednesday, many residents in Longview posed the questions as to why the emergency sirens did not go off.
According to the city, the answer is simply because there was no tornado warning issued.
Longview has multiple sirens located across the city. They are tested monthly to ensure they are in working order.
However, the city only uses the siren based on whether there is a tornado warning issued in the area.
"The way that our storm system works is those sirens are activated from within our public safety communications area, our 9-1-1 area, and they activate based on if there is a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service," Longview spokesman Shawn Hara said.
The city does uses the CodeRed emergency alert system, which warns residents about rain and wind threats. That system did work properly Wednesday.
