Q. Why aren’t local nuclear sirens also used for severe weather alerts?
Graphic/Ian-Alijah Bey
Answered by Ian-Alijah Bey (ian-alijah@theenterprisectr.org)
If you live in the northern parts of Hamilton County, you’ve probably heard the nuclear sirens being tested on the first Wednesday of each month. The 190 sirens owned by Sequoyah Nuclear Plant are stationed within a 10-mile radius of the plant, and besides these regular tests, they’ve never had to sound the alarm for a real incident.
A Chattamatters follower wanted to know why Sequoyah’s sirens aren’t also used in weather emergencies, the same way they do in Nashville and some other places: “It seems much more likely that we will need community warning of severe storms rather than a nuclear meltdown.”
So, we asked TVA. Spokesperson Scott Fiedler told us that they have no plans to use the sirens for weather emergencies or anything else. The concern is that if the nuclear sirens were used for other reasons, residents might confuse a weather warning with a nuclear accident.
In addition to potential confusion, Amy Maxwell from Hamilton County’s Emergency Management told us that setting up sirens across the county is not practical. The hilly landscape would make it difficult for siren sounds to reach everyone, and establishing a siren system that large would cost millions in tax dollars.
Hamilton County has its own alert system for various emergencies like tornadoes, hazardous spills, and active shooters, called Regroup.
Regroup will notify you in case of a weather emergency via text, email, and even landline calls. Since it started in April 2024, about 5,300 people have signed up, and according to Maxwell, it’s been successful so far. Before Regroup was introduced, the county used IPAWS, a similar alert service offered by FEMA, but it was replaced after some issues.
Digital alerts are just one way Hamilton County manages public emergencies. In fact, weather radios are still the county’s most popular method for receiving alerts. The county recently received a grant from FEMA to distribute 2,735 weather radios to low-income students in areas affected by the 2020 tornado in Chattanooga. The county is also working on providing free weather radios to local foster care families to help more people stay informed during emergencies.
If you live in Hamilton County and want to stay informed about weather emergencies, sign up for alerts at hamiltonready.org, and make sure your emergency notifications are enabled on your smart device so you receive every alert. For those using weather radios, tune to frequency 162.550 for local weather emergencies.
