Hamilton County Emergency Management (HCEM) will resume the weekly testing of the outdoor warning sirens at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 11. The sirens will also sound during the statewide tornado drill between 10 and 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15. HCEM encourages everyone to exercise your plan by going to your safe place during the drill.
Booker
“The outdoor warning sirens are intended to warn those who are outdoors,” said Emergency Management Executive Director Shane Booker. “Because sirens are not intended to warn those indoors, we recommend every household and business to have a weather radio.”
Learn more about outdoor warning sirens in Hamilton County at hamiltoncounty.in.gov/235/Outdoor-Warning-Sirens.
Sirens are only sounded when:
- The National Weather Service issues a tornado warning. Visit weather.gov/safety/tornado-ww for more information.
- When public safety personnel see a funnel cloud or tornado.
- When a trained weather spotter sees a funnel cloud or tornado.
On Sunday, March 6, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for a portion of Hamilton County. Only the sirens for the municipalities in contact with the polygon were sounded. For example, the sirens in Cicero were sounded; however, the sirens in Sheridan and Arcadia were not because they were not in the warned area.
When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, a message will be sent to cell phones in the county. FEMA, which manages the Emergency Alert System and the Wireless Emergency Alerts, is working to improve alerts to only those in the warned area. Emergency Management uses the same system to send non-weather-related emergencies to cell phones and weather radios. Alerts can include hazardous materials warnings, shelter-in-place warnings, law enforcement warnings, and more.
Emergency Management recommends everyone have a plan for severe weather, an emergency kit with supplies for at least three days, and multiple ways to receive warnings such as a weather radio and the free HCEM mobile app.
Resources to help you prepare for severe weather, emergencies, and disasters are available at ready.gov. The website also includes information and games to help children understand emergency preparedness.
About Hamilton County Emergency Management
Hamilton County Emergency Management is a county-level government public safety department tasked with emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for emergencies and disasters. The department is the largest county-level emergency management program in the state, with nine full-time staff and nearly 200 volunteers.