Importance of testing tornado sirens during Ohio’s Severe Weather Awareness Week
Wood County EMA weighs in on the importance of being weather aware.
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - At 9:50 AM Wednesday, every county across the state of Ohio tested its tornado sirens as part of the state’s Severe Weather Awareness Week. In Lucas County, no official error reports were filed from its 121+ sirens county-wide.
Sirens come in many shapes and sizes. Wood County oversees at least 75 of them. With so many sirens, you may be wondering: “how come I didn’t hear one go off?”
“We really need to encourage everyone to understand that these sirens are designed to be heard outdoors,” says Wood County EMA Director, Jeff Klein. He says with more distractions, the sirens are harder to hear. “Now, everybody’s getting their homes insulated, things like that. There’s so much other ambient noise, people wearing headphones and things. "
Klein recommends having some form of backup-type system to stay weather aware, using technology to your advantage. He adds that -- when you do hear the sirens -- don’t stop there. “We really encourage people: that’s your notification to say, hey, something’s going on,” says Klein. “I need to get more information. Where do I go to get information? Well if there’s something big going on, you folks are going to break into TV.”
Resources to stay ahead of the storm:
- 13abc Weather Website | 13abc First Warning Weather App (Android) (Apple)
- National Weather Service
- Ohio EMA | Ohio Weather Safety
- Wood County: CodeRED emergency telephone system
- Lucas County: Alert system
- Allen County: Alert Allen County | Ready Allen County registry system
- Huron County: Emergency alert system
- Paulding County: NIXLE Alerts
How to report a siren that’s not working in your community:
- Lucas County EMA Office: 419-213-6503
- Wood County EMA Office: 419-354-9269
- Defiance County EMA Office: 419-782-1130
- Allen County EMA Office: 419-993-1404
- Erie County EMA Office: 419-627-7617
- Fulton County EMA Office: 419-337-9207
- Hancock County EMA Office: 419-424-7092
- Henry County EMA Office: 419-592-4876
- Huron County EMA Office: 419-663-5772
- Ottawa County EMA Office: 419-734-6900
- Paulding County EMA Office: 419-399-3500
- Putnam County EMA Office: 419-538-7315
- Sandusky County EMA Office: 419-334-8933
- Seneca County EMA Office: 419-447-0266
- Williams County EMA Office: 419-636-8497
- Wyandot County EMA Office: 419-294-6406
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