Wednesday, July 07, 1999
County: 1 weather warning system
Towns near Ind. want siren control
BY DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
All 175 civil defense sirens in Hamilton County sound at the same time when dangerous weather approaches, and that's just the way county officials want it to stay.
Don Maccarone, Hamilton County's director of emergency management, said Tuesday that the county is discouraging communities from seeking the right to control their own sirens in the face of severe weather.
But since most severe storms move from west to east, people living on the western fringe of the county often receive much less warning of approaching storms.
That has led some communities, such as North Bend, to ask whether they can sound their alarms when Dearborn County, Ind., comes under a tornado warning.
Mr. Maccarone said no firm decision has been made, but he doesn't think it's a good idea. “It would create a lot of confusion if sirens are activated and Hamilton County isn't under a tornado watch,” he said.
Harrison fought for and won the right to sound its own sirens after a devastating 1990 tornado.
North Bend Vice Mayor Bill Kane questioned Mr. Maccarone and officials from the National Weather Service about the issue Tuesday at a severe-weather workshop.
“We live five miles from the Indiana line, and we are sitting ducks on this tornado thing,” Mr. Kane said. “We have a responsibility to do what's right for our citizens.”
At the meeting, weather service officials explained when and how they issue warnings, and that often Hamilton County is placed under a tornado warning at the same time as Dearborn County.
Mr. Kane acknowledged afterward that controlling the town's siren might not be the answer.
“I'm open to any option that allows our citizens to have a reasonable warning,” he said.
Rich Dole, administrative coordinator for Harrison, said having local control over sirens has worked well there. “We want to get the information out as soon as possible,” Mr. Dole said.
Civil defense sirens are sounded an average of 21/2 times per year in Hamilton County. Although Mr. Dole wasn't sure exactly how many times Harrison's sirens went off last year, it was at least double that, he said.
“There are storms that move north though Dearborn County and never have a chance of coming into Hamilton County,” said Ken Haydu, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington.
Mr. Maccarone said the Emergency Management Agency's Executive Committee will have the final say. “We haven't said a definite "no' to anyone, but that doesn't mean we've said a definite "yes' either,” he said. “We'd like to discourage it.”
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