Pasadena rental hurricane, flood and siren plan: shelter-in-place is a lease item

Read the city’s siren page before anything else. “In the event of a chemical release or other hazardous materials incident where public health could be affected, emergency dispatchers sound the 30 sirens that are located throughout Pasadena”; the same sirens sound for a tornado; “City of Pasadena Sirens are TESTED every Saturday at 12 NOON. No Shelter-in-Place is necessary during testing”; and “local refineries and plants have their own alert sirens and testing schedules as well” (Warning sirens and sheltering in place). The shelter instruction is specific: go inside, choose a small interior room, close and lock doors and windows, and “if a chemical release is involved, turn off any central air-conditioning or heating.” A tenant who does not know the Saturday test will call the landlord at noon; one who does not know the shelter rule may leave the air-conditioning running during a release. Both belong on the welcome sheet, with the city’s free ReadyPasadena alerts.

The siren sheet

Saturday, 12 noon: a test. No action.
Any other time: go indoors at once; small interior room; doors and windows closed and locked.
Chemical release: turn off central air-conditioning and heating; do not use the dryer or range hood; wait for the all-clear on local media or city channels.
Tornado: ground floor, interior room, away from windows.
In a car: turn off the vehicle’s air and heat and drive out of the shelter-in-place zone, or shelter in the nearest building.
Sign up for ReadyPasadena for weather, traffic and chemical alerts by text, phone and email (ReadyPasadena).

Hurricane and flood: the coastal file

Pasadena’s flood ordinance, Chapter 9, Article IX (Ordinance 20-186, January 5, 2021), adopts the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Harris County and incorporated areas dated May 2, 2019 (volumes 1, 2 and 4) and January 6, 2017 (the remainder), requires property “within the 100-year (one (1) percent) flood zone” to be “disclosed as ‘flood prone’ for any property sale,” and sets elevation rules even in the 500-year Shaded X zone. For the lease, §92.0135 asks whether the dwelling is in a 100-year floodplain and whether it flooded in the last five years; answer from the FEMA map and records, in the TREC form’s words. Insurance: flood is a separate policy; wind depends on the address — TWIA’s designated area covers only “parts of Harris County east of Highway 146,” so a Pasadena landlord asks a licensed agent whether the property is inside that line or must be written in the private market (TWIA eligibility).

WHO DOES WHAT WHEN A STORM APPROACHES PASADENA
When	Tenant	Landlord	Source
June 1	Keeps the siren and storm sheet; knows whether the address is in an evacuation zone	Photographs roof and exterior; trims trees; confirms wind and flood cover	Code Ch. 9, Art. IX
Watch or warning	Secures loose items; fills vehicles; follows Harris County and city notices via ReadyPasadena	Secures vacant units; confirms the tenant has the sheet	ReadyPasadena
Evacuation ordered	Leaves; does not wait for permission	Requires nothing; records the date	—
During	Shelters or is gone; reports nothing until safe	Waits	—
After	Photographs; reports in writing; does not enter a flooded unit before power is confirmed off	Photographs; opens wind and flood claims separately; acknowledges the report — the §92.056 clock has started; CenterPoint for outages	Property Code §92.056 · CenterPoint

If the unit is uninhabitable

Property Code §92.054: if the premises are totally unusable and the tenant is not at fault, either party may terminate by written notice before repairs are completed, with a pro-rata rent refund and the deposit returned; a partially unusable unit can lead to a rent reduction; and the repair period on an insured loss begins when the insurance proceeds arrive. Say in writing which path applies within days.

Heat, cooling and the ordinance

Pasadena is the one city where the summer risk has an ordinance number: cooling to a 20 °F differential or 78 °F in a licensed building (§16½-11). A power outage after a storm suspends what the landlord can deliver — §92.008 limits what a landlord may do about utilities — but the moment CenterPoint restores service, the standard applies again. The Pasadena maintenance guide has the service calendar.

Utilities on the sheet

Power: CenterPoint, the delivery utility, not the retail provider (CenterPoint). Water and sewer: the city’s Water Billing Office in hours and the Pasadena Action Line, 713-475-5555, for problems (Water Billing). Add the landlord’s emergency number, the shutoff and breaker locations, and — for a master-metered complex — the posted payer notice.

After the event

Photographs with dates, the tenant’s written report, wind and flood claim numbers, contractor invoices, CenterPoint and city notices and the repair-completion note go in one folder. A flood changes the second §92.0135 answer for five years; record the date. A chemical shelter-in-place event should be logged too — the date, the all-clear time and any city instruction — because a tenant may ask for it later.

What changes in Pasadena

Thirty municipal sirens for chemical releases and tornadoes, tested every Saturday at noon.
Shelter-in-place means air-conditioning off — a line on the lease’s welcome sheet.
The 2019 Harris County FEMA study governs the flood disclosure; “flood prone” is a sale disclosure by ordinance.
TWIA eligibility turns on Highway 146; ask before hurricane season.
The ordinance cooling standard returns the moment CenterPoint restores power.

Frequently asked questions

Why do sirens sound in Pasadena on Saturdays?

It is the weekly test at 12 noon; no shelter-in-place is needed. At any other time the sirens mean a chemical release or a tornado — go indoors and wait for the all-clear (City of Pasadena).

What should a tenant do during a Pasadena shelter-in-place?

Go inside, choose a small interior room, close and lock doors and windows, turn off central air-conditioning or heating if a chemical release is involved, and follow local media and city channels for the all-clear (City of Pasadena).

Is Pasadena covered by TWIA windstorm insurance?

TWIA’s designated area includes only the parts of Harris County east of Highway 146; whether a Pasadena address qualifies must be checked with a licensed agent (TWIA).

Which flood maps does Pasadena use?

The FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Harris County dated May 2, 2019 (volumes 1, 2 and 4) and January 6, 2017 for the rest, adopted by Ordinance 20-186; check the address on the FEMA map (Code Ch. 9, Art. IX, FEMA).

Sources

Rules change and the right answer can depend on the home, the city, the lease and the timing. These are the official pages this guide relies on; check them before signing, charging a fee, sending a notice or making a legal decision.

General information for U.S. landlords, with a Texas focus. This guide is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Consult a qualified professional for your situation. Written by the rentalfreelease.com Editorial Team; last reviewed September 19, 2026.