LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio —
Ohio is currently leading the nation in tornadoes this year, with 35 so far.
When severe weather strikes, it's important people stay alert. One way Lucas County keeps people informed is through outdoor warning sirens.
The county has over 130 sirens that go off if there is a tornado warning anywhere in the county. Sirens potentially will be sounded if there is other extreme weather, like sustained winds of over 70 mph or a derecho.
Abby Buchhop, director of the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, said the sirens are just one of the ways people should stay alert to the weather.
"They are intended to be heard outdoors," Buchhop said. "If an individual is outdoors and the tornado warning is issued and they hear the siren, the intention is that they should go indoors and tune in to local media, weather radio, or maybe perhaps their smartphone or weather app for additional details on what the weather is."
The sirens should just be one tool in people's preparedness toolbox, Buchhop said. Depending on the age of a siren, Buchhop said they can be heard from half a mile to one mile away.
To make sure the sirens are up to date, Lucas County conducts a test on the first Friday of every month at noon. Buchhop said the county greatly relies on reports from the public and media partners to know if sirens are working. A local group, Amateur Radio Emergency Services, also reports back concerns.
In March, Buchhop said all the sirens except one in Point Place went off. She said Lucas County EMA referred the siren to a vendor and is working on getting it fixed.
Amy Kuhlman, a pastor at River Point United Methodist Church, said it's concerning knowing that one isn't working.
"I have a lot of people in my congregation that rely on the sirens because they don't have the smartphones," Kuhlman said. "It's kind of worrisome to know that there's one that's not working. How do they know to take cover if they're not watching TV or on social media?"
During the monthly tests, if an alert does not go off, the county asks people to report it.
"Individuals that want to report a siren that they didn't hear when they were outside, they are absolutely welcome to call us, contact us on social media," Buchhop said. "On our website and on social media, we have this really great web form they can fill out. It asks them a couple of questions about where they were specifically because that really helps us identify what siren may be nearby."
Buchhop said this helps Lucas County EMA be able to fix sirens as soon as possible.