Haywood unveils 18-siren alert network tied to river gauges; officials urge 'high-low time to go' response

County emergency services updated the board on a new river-gauge and siren alert system intended to improve flood warning in parts of Haywood County with poor cellular reception.

Recovery and resiliency staff described an 18-siren deployment funded through a North Carolina Emergency Management grant and sited across corridors including the Crusoe/276 area, Lake Logan/215 corridors, Clyde and the Waynesville watershed. The system connects to river and rain gauges and can be activated remotely for groups of sirens or manually by fire departments. "High low time to go," the presenter said as the county's call-to-action: when residents hear the high-low tone they should move to higher ground immediately.

Officials said sirens are meant as an outdoor alert that can reach people without reliable cell service; a conservative estimate for audibility is roughly a one-quarter-mile radius (0.25 mile) from a siren, depending on topography, leaf cover and weather. The system also includes spoken messages (for nearby listeners) and nightly silent tests to validate components. Staff emphasized that the automatic activation capability exists but the county will initially rely on manual activation while mapping and calibration continue and recommended residents enroll in ReadyHaywood alerts and maintain AM/FM or weather-radio backups.

Board members praised the project as a life-safety improvement and asked staff to continue coordination with towns for potential additional siren placements. Emergency services said a public-facing PDF and an interactive map — plus sound examples and a QR code — will be available at readyhaywood.com.