Emergency Management

Emergency Preparedness

Disaster preparedness means helping to make every individual – no matter what age – know their hazards and know how to be properly prepared in the event of any number of emergencies or disasters. Knowing how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster can not only make you feel more secure, it may save your life or the life of a loved one. The following are some steps to take to better aide in becoming best prepared for any type of disaster.

MYTH: I DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT DISASTERS WHERE I LIVE.

Emergency preparedness is not only for Californians, Midwesterners and Gulf Coast residents. Most communities may be impacted by several types of hazards during a lifetime. Americans also travel more than ever before to areas with different hazard risks than at home. Knowing what to do before, during and after an emergency is a critical part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count. Use this site to learn about potential emergencies that can happen and how to prepare for and respond to them.

Citywide Early Warning Siren System

The City of New Braunfels has an enhanced Alert Notification System to better protect and ensure the public safety of our residents and visitors. New Braunfels offers something for everyone to enjoy, most notably the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers. As the city of two rivers, residents and visitors enjoy lazy afternoons tubing and picnicking along the tranquil rivers. There are rare occasions that our rivers are not tranquil and become a hazard to life and property.

New Braunfels is located in Flash Flood Alley and is particularly vulnerable to flooding. Recorded data dating back to the early 1900’s details New Braunfels as having floods, with most recent floods of 1972,1998, 2002, and 2010 triggering the need to enhance the city’s warning system with the installation of Outdoor Warning Sirens. These sirens alert citizens and visitors in a more safe and timely manner. The Alert Notification System consists of eight (8) sirens strategically located throughout the city.

In the event of an emergency, these sirens will be activated and a tone will be heard. Following a short tone of 5 seconds modulator sirens will broadcast an explanation of what has occurred and what actions you should take. Tone only sirens will broadcast only a tone.

The 2 types of warning signals used are:

Voice Signal: This is used for severe weather as well as the Tuesday siren testing.
Wail Signal: This is used for other alerts the city of New Braunfels requests its citizens to be aware of, like a hazardous material incident.

Action

If you should hear the warning sirens, go inside and seek shelter immediately. Turn on a radio or television and listen carefully to instructions. KGNB AM 1420 is the designated Emergency Alert System (EAS) station for our area. New Braunfels residents with cable should tune to:

Channel 21 for Spectrum subscribers
Channel 99 for AT&T U-verse subscribers

Stay indoors until the danger passes. Please do not call 911 or New Braunfels Fire Stations for information unless you are reporting a life-threatening situation or hazardous condition.