From funding issues to political delays, San Francisco’s skies have remained silent of the emergency warning sirens that once wailed across the city. San Francisco officials intentions to go forward with the project remain unclear as of 2025, but proposals for its repair are being initiated.

     San Francisco’s iconic emergency siren system went offline in Dec. 2019 for repairs due to security vulnerabilities. This stemmed from an incident that occurred in Dallas, Texas when their emergency siren system was breached and sounded on a Tuesday night. Shortly after, San Francisco officials realized its system was just as vulnerable and took all sirens offline. 

     During WWII, 50 sirens were installed to warn the public of air raids as San Francisco was a probable target. In 2005, a federal grant was taken to repair and install more sirens adding to a total of 114 to serve as a warning to residents for natural disasters or radiological attacks. 

     Now as costs to repair the old siren’s hardware and software increase, the project becomes more and more out of reach for San Francisco officials to take on. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has no plans to fund the emergency siren system. When pressed for questions, Lurie redirected to the DEM for further inquiries, according to the San Francisco Chronicle who reached out to the mayor’s office in Jul. 2025.

     With the absence of San Francisco’s outdoor public warning system, the city has become reliant on notification systems such as AlertSF, an opt-in notification warning system, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and first responders warning residents firsthand. 

     DEM Executive Director Mary Ellen Carroll spoke in favor of repairing and returning the emergency siren system in San Francisco while in its inactivity.

     “Having as many tools as possible to alert the public is always helpful during a critical situation. Bringing back the outdoor public warning sirens adds an additional layer of redundancy to our overall alert and warning system in San Francisco.” 

     Given the increased frequency of incidents, it raises the question if San Francisco needs to prioritize repairing the emergency siren system. This was brought up recently in Jul. 2025 following the Texas flash floods that resulted in 135 deaths due to a lack of warning. A lot of finger pointing was done between San Francisco officials to bring back the sirens for additional safety of San Francisco residents but no advancements were ever made. 

     Marcelo Quinonez ‘26 expressed safety concerns regarding the state of the sirens stating, “Phone alerts are great but not everyone has access to a phone at all times and we may be relying too much on notification systems whereas the emergency sirens would reach everyone and emphasize an emergency,” Quinonez said.

     In a 2024 DEM budget hearing, a proposed budget of $7.5 million was initiated for the reactivation of the outdoor public warning system but has yet to be approved and signs to its approval are questionable with no advocacy from San Francisco officials. 

     Archbishop Riordan teacher Brian Kosewic ‘16 stated, “I do think it’s always better to invest in emergency preparedness and disaster prevention. I think the costs of not investing in it early end up being a lot higher than not investing in it.” 

     With no push from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie or signs of approval for the proposed budget, the outdoor public warning system will remain off as of 2025. Now in its inactivity, questions arise whether the sirens are really needed or if it’s another feature San Francisco won’t worry about till disaster strikes.