Mayor Dan Pope commented Thursday on the City of Lubbock’s response to the storms and flooding Wednesday.
“We were doing the kinds of things I think the city is supposed to do,” Pope told EverythingLubbock.com.
“Public safety is our number one concern. Safety of our citizens,” he explained.
“I think our people performed really really well. Our fire and police were in the middle of it. We were closing down roads, we know where to go, Emergency Operations Center was fully-functional. I was in communication. It was really my first time to really understand the way that works,” Pope added.
Pope said he wanted to re-introduce the idea of an emergency siren notification system, some that former city leaders had not moved forward with.
“I can’t speak for previous leadership. I wouldn’t dare try to do that. I think they’ve done great work. I wouldn’t throw rocks at them. I think it’s important to me and the reason it’s important to me is that I’ve heard citizens talk about it,” Pope said.
The City of Lubbock issued a statement, which can be found below.
Recently, Lubbock has experienced severe weather, storm events, and tornado watches. The City of Lubbock Emergency Operations Center monitors local weather conditions and forecasts, and the City responds appropriately to utilize its resources and help the public be informed about dangerous weather conditions. The City of Lubbock encourages citizens to be apprised of changing weather conditions through a variety of resources including NOAA Weather Radio, subscribing to the Lubbock Police Department Nixle on a mobile phone or an e-mail address, or by monitoring your local television or radio station. The Lubbock Fire and Police Department’s Twitter and Facebook, as well as the main City of Lubbock social media pages are another source for receiving accurate, up-to-date information regarding severe weather.
Mayor Dan Pope stated, “This is severe weather and tornado season, and I encourage all citizens to utilize resources that are available to them to monitor severe weather events in our region. Recent severe weather in our region has brought a renewed interest among some citizens for the City to reconsider an emergency siren notification system. I plan to initiate discussions on this topic during our upcoming City Budget deliberations.”
