Emergency Management

Emergency Management

The City of Van falls under the Texas Department of Emergency Management Region I. 

Local Emergency management for a town the size of Van focuses on warnings and notifications. The resources required to recover from a catastrophic event exceed what is available, and those response efforts are coordinated up the chain to TDEM. 

Local notifications are provided through the CivicReady alert system, social media, and the Outdoor Warning Sirens. 

Civic Ready

Civic Ready is an electronic subscriber based system citizens can join to receive alerts via text or email. The City of Van Emergency Management and the Van Fire Department maintain active Facebook pages, but those pages are administered by actual First Responders, so they are not recommended as a primary means of news, in a disaster those Responders may be tasked with emergency calls. 

Outdoor Sirens

The Outdoor Warning Siren system is a collection of six rotating sirens that are activated by radio. These sirens are not designed nor intended to warn those indoors, their primary function  is to warn those currently outdoors to seek shelter. The sirens are spaced throughout the City with a specified range of 1.5 miles audible warning, but have been reported to be heard as far as Pruitt. 

The Outdoor Warning Sirens will be tested on the day of the regular monthly City Council meetings, the second Thursday of the month. If the weather is threatening on the scheduled day, they will be tested the following week, to avoid being mistaken for an actual alarm .