Metro Changes Tornado Siren Policy To Increase Public Safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2008
CONTACT: AMANDA SLUSS
615.880.2962 (OFFICE)
615.566.0978 (CELL)
Sirens activated in eight minute intervals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Metro’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) today announced the implementation of a new tornado siren policy that’s intended to help save lives during severe weather events.
When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning for Davidson County, OEM activates all 70 sirens located across the county at once. A high-pitched siren sounds continuously for a full three minutes and under the new policy, will repeat in eight minute intervals for the duration of the warning period.
“This policy was created to provide our citizens with an additional layer of notification that severe weather is imminent and shelter should be sought immediately,” Acting Director Stephen Halford said. “By sounding the sirens more than once, we increase the safety of our vulnerable citizens who may be outdoors away from a television or radio.”
The entire siren system is utilized during warning periods because if conditions are favorable for tornadic development in one part of the county, citizens need to be advised that weather conditions can rapidly change with little or no notice in their area. Every second of advanced warning can mean the difference between life and death.
The new policy was put into action for the first time on Tuesday, February 5, as severe weather and deadly tornados ripped across the state. The Weather Service issued six tornado warnings for Davidson County during the evening and overnight hours, activating the siren system 25 times.
Tornado sirens are designed to be an early warning device primarily for persons who are outside and unaware of emergency weather broadcasts. Tornado sirens are frequently not heard in homes, especially during spring and summer months, for multiple reasons such as the distance from the siren, homes being shut up with air conditioners running and people being asleep during nighttime storms with thunder, rain and wind. For this reason, OEM officials highly recommend citizens keep a NOAA weather alert radio with extra batteries in their homes, preferable in the bedroom, with an audible alert.
For more information on the Metro Nashville tornado siren system, visit our web site at www.nashville.gov/oem/siren/siren.htm.