EMA urges use of media, local weather

By: Jeremy Wise | The Enterprise Ledger
Published: January 23, 2012

With the potential of severe weather in Thursday’s forecast, residents may want to keep their ears especially tuned in for severe weather sirens.

Two of Coffee County’s 27 sirens are out of order, though, but even if they were not, Emergency Management Agency officials urge residents to rely on other sources to alert them of impending bad weather.

CCEMA Director Larry Walker said hearing sirens while inside a building or house, especially when the TV is on, is difficult. That is why he and Deputy Director James Brown urge residents to utilize local media and/or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency weather radios to alert them of possible harm.

“Often (local media) have (warnings) out before the sirens go off,” Walker said.

“We want to reiterate they (sirens) are for outside use only. That’s why we put them near ballfields and places where there might be a lot of people outside,” Brown said.

One siren in downtown New Brockton and one near Kelley Foods in Elba are the ones currently not working. Walker said lightning destroyed those two, and Brown said the cities are currently waiting on insurance money to be able to fix them.

The officials, though, are not worried the outages pose any imminent dangers for residents near those sirens if severe weather should strike.

“Often (local media) have (warnings) out before the sirens go off,” Walker said.

The forecast for Thursday includes a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, according to www.noaa.gov.