Air raid sirens were once a weekly event in Houston during the Cold War Era. Every Friday at noon the civil defense system was activated. Similar to tornado sirens, they blasted through the air space as a test. The sirens were installed in the early 1950s in various areas of the city to warn of a nuclear attack. This program was subsidized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (or FEMA) and lasted 40 years. The siren system was considered to be obsolete by the early 1990s and, at a cost of $35,000-$50,000 per year to maintain, the program ended when these civil defense sirens sounded through the Houston air space for the last time on Friday, April 24, 1992. 

In total, there were 42 sirens located within Houston’s Loop 610 and were installed before the expansion of suburban areas around the city. Approximately 107 more sirens would have been needed at the time to keep up with Houston expansion, all at a cost of $3.6 million dollars. Today’s technology includes emergency systems that can override broadcast signals and streams and reach millions of people in a matter of seconds on phone displays. Several decommissioned sirens stayed in place for up to 20 years after the system was turned off. Most of the relics were usually at fire stations, which were eventually removed as stations were renovated. 

Written by: Mike Acosta, Houston City Beat Partner