NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – The city of New Braunfels is calling on all residents of Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties to sign up for life-saving information.
"Since the 2010 flood, we experienced something we've never experienced before," said New Braunfels Fire Chief John Robinson. "The water went up 29 feet in less than an hour, then it went down in less than an hour and there was no time to get a lot if the messages out."
As a result of this, the New Braunfels City Council approved the purchase of the siren warning system, but Robinson said it takes a combination of systems.
Another widely used system is the "reverse 911."
"It works very well to identify locations within the community that we can send a message out. The downside is (that) it's limited to landlines," Robinson said.
As a result, emergency personnel realized the emergency alerts were not reaching a lot of people, which is why New Braunfels is now launching the new Tri-City Alert Notification System.
"You can be notified now through electronic devices with the cell phone, smart devices, computer or texts," Robinson said.
"I do not have a landline, just a cell phone, so that would work out great," said Comal County resident Tim Morris.
Morris explained this new system is especially important because of where he lives.
"I live on Lake Dunlap, which would also be an issue because a lot of times with flooding, we don't get enough warning ahead of time," Morris said.
It is free to register your cell phone and it is location-specific. You can sign up through the New Braunfels' city website.
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