Arp tornado siren failure during storm prompts relocation plans
ARP, Texas (KETK) — The City of Arp's tornado siren failed to go off during Monday's severe weather, prompting their police chief to push for their siren to be relocated to City Hall.
More than 360,000 gallons of sewage spills onto road in Tyler
While the Arp Police Department used Facebook to warn residents about a possible tornado on Monday morning, multiple residents voiced their concerns on not having a reliable tornado siren. According to Arp PD Chief of Police Joe Keegan, the transformer that allows the siren to sound off, stopped working a couple weeks ago.
The city's electrical company that usually handles these issues, could not fix the transformer because the ground around the transformer is too wet. This is not the first time the siren has failed to do its job and Keegan said this problem could also stem from the siren having public access. Keegan told KETK the transformer was built on Arp ISD property around 10 years ago with the ability to be turned off if needed.
More than 13,000 without power in East Texas counties due to severe weather
With the siren being attached to a baseball field batting cage, Keegan feels that someone unintentionally turned off the siren while trying make adjustments to the cage's electrical settings. Keegan said this is not an Arp ISD issue and that he is working with the mayor to propose moving the transformer and siren to City Hall, where they cannot be turned off or potentially getting a new siren.
'This is going to be a pretty high priority,' Keegan said.
Keegan said he plans to get quotes on moving the siren to City Hall this week. The city council will vote on the proposal once they have an appropriate amount of quotes. Keegan's goal is to set the process in motion by the first week of June to give Arp residents a sense of comfort as soon as possible.
PHOTOS: Memorial Day severe weather leaves damage across East Texas
If another tornado warning occurs before the siren is moved, Arp PD said officers will potentially pass through neighborhoods using their sirens and loud speakers to warn residents.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘PWC Beach,' Echo Bay pipe mat latest Lake Mead improvements for boaters
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Lake Mead is 8 feet lower than it was a year ago, and officials are making more adjustments to help boaters who are ready to get out in the water this summer. After adding a new courtesy dock for personal watercraft adjacent to Hemenway Harbor just two weeks ago, the National Park Service (NPS) said this week it is adding another pipe mat at Echo Bay, along with adjustments to the courtesy dock there. Hemenway Harbor, the closest launch point to Las Vegas, will have reduced access this summer as NPS extends the boat ramp. Construction began June 2, and the launch ramp will be reduced to one lane. The courtesy docks will be reduced down by one half, according to an NPS web page summarizing the project. 'Personal Watercraft Beach,' or PWC Beach, was announced around Memorial Day as the summer season began. It's just north of the Hemenway Harbor ramp. The Lake Mead National Recreation Area Facilities team installed two Mobi-Mats, one on each side of the new courtesy dock. The mats are portable, and have been used in recent years to help boaters with changing conditions at the lake. Some boaters have complained that they won't use PWC Beach because they don't want to drive through the dirt, but they won't have any other option nearby. 'All jet skis must launch at PWC Beach during construction,' according to a May 31 social post. Summer is the busiest time for boaters, but it's also the best time for construction, NPS said. 'Water level projections for the 2025 summer boating season are favorable for construction, allowing dive and contract teams to perform underwater and shoreline work safely and efficiently at the launch ramp. Summer and fall are generally the best times for this type of underwater construction work,' NPS said. As of noon Wednesday, Lake Mead's surface was at 1,056.59 feet, compared to 1,064.81 feet on June 15, 2024. While that drop is a bit alarming, it's better than projections last year that expected the lake to be down another 3 feet, at 1,053.56 feet. The lake typically hits its low point in July each year. On July 27, 2022, the lake hit its lowest point since it was filled in the 1930s, dipping to 1,041.71 feet above sea level. At Echo Bay, crews were scheduled to do the work on Wednesday, June 4, and finish before the end of the day. The upgrades will extend and widen the ramp for safer, easier boat launching, NPS said. Officials noted that the right launch lane remains closed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rainfall totals in the Wichita area break a 94-year-old record. How much fell?
Heavy rains caused flooding in the Wichita area on Tuesday, and set a June 3 daily record for rainfall totals that have been recorded since 1888. Here is a look at how much rain Wichita got and how it compares to other days: The rain started just after 10 p.m. Monday and stopped after 10 p.m. Tuesday. Over those two days, 2.95 inches of rain fell, with 2.47 inches of it falling on Tuesday. Other significant, two-day measurements of rain in the Wichita area were 6.21 inches of rain recorded at Beechcraft by Textron Aviation on Greenwich, 5.18 inches at Jabara Airport and 5.98 inches in Towanda. Bryan Baerg, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Wichita, said the roughly 4 inches of rain that fell over the Memorial Day weekend saturated the ground. Then, this hard rainfall in a short amount of time was too much for drainage systems to keep up with. The 2.47 inches of rain on Tuesday is the June 3 record, surpassing the 1.67 inches set in 1932. The measurement was taken at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Here is when Wichita had its last five rainfalls of 2 or more inches. 2.32 inches on May 25 3.13 inches on Nov. 2, 2024 4.24 inches on Oct. 25, 2023 2 inches on July 5, 2023 2.27 inches on Nov. 4, 2022 But none of those are close to the top daily rainfalls in Wichita. Here are the Top 5: 10.31 inches on Sept. 12, 2008 6.82 inches on June 8, 1923 6.03 inches on April 22, 1944 5.79 inches on Oct. 31, 1998 5.78 inches on Sept. 26, 1999 Wichita has had 15.48 inches of rain so far this year, compared to an average of 13.15 inches that Wichita typically sees by this time of the year. Wichita averages 34.31 inches of rain a year. There are chances of rain later this week and weekend, but it will 'definitely (be) lighter amounts than what we saw yesterday,' Baerg said. The heaviest of the possible rains is late Thursday and into Friday morning, when rainfall could be in the one to two inch range. Up to an inch more is possible over the weekend, he said. Wichita metro area under flood warning. Here's how much rain has fallen, forecast 'It was just a riptide': Wichita man videotapes rescue from stalled car during flood After flash flooding, what's next for Wichita's weather? Plus how much rain fell
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
TRAFFIC ALERT: Road closures in Henderson County due to flooding
HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — As Henderson County battles flash flooding, some roads have been shut down for the safety of East Texans. According to Henderson County, flash flooding is possible with heavy rains, so the county encourages residents to turn around if they encounter a flooded road. 'Never walk, swim, or drive through still or moving floodwaters,' the county said. 'The water may be hiding dangers such as debris, tree branches, power lines or damage to the road. As little as six inches of fast-moving water can cause motorists to lose control of their vehicle, even a pickup truck or SUV.' A flash flood warning has been issued till June 8 at 9:25 p.m. in Henderson County. KETK has compiled the following list of road closures in Henderson County: County Road 1500 East and West is closed The bridge on County Road 1507 is flooded and not passable County Road 1113 is flooded at the creek and is not passable County Road 2448 is under water Pritchett Road in Seven Points is closed from Jess Hinton to County Road 2105 County Road 2139 south of 85 is closed County Road 2428 east is closed The bridge on County Road 3918 was washed over and is not passable The bridge on FM 316 by Purtis Creek is flooded County Road 3822 County Road 3715 has since reopened. Emergency Management said they received reports of stranded vehicles due to high water this morning, but all has cleared out as of now and no injuries were reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
