Outdoor Warning Siren

Thursday, 04 August 2011 15:57

The Emergency Management departments in Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties maintain OUTDOOR Warning Siren systems for their respective jurisdictions.  These systems are only intended to alert persons involved in outdoor activities.  The systems are not designed to provide an audible alert for those persons indoors.  The purpose is to TAKE COVER, TUNE IN to local TV or radio to become informed and then TAKE ACTION for their safety based on this information.

To ensure receipt of severe weather watches and warnings, every occupancy should have a Weather Radio with a tone alert and battery backup that will broadcast alerts directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) over their NOAA Weather Radio broadcast system.  NOAA Weather Radios with tone alert capability can remain on and silent until the National Weather Service activates the system.  The weather radio then sounds an alarm and gives immediate information.  NOAA Weather Radios are available at most retail electronic stores.  Improvements in technology allow for the purchase of weather radios with S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding).  S.A.M.E. weather radios can be programmed by the user to limit the alerts received to only the county or counties of interest to them.

Effective immediately the Outdoor Warning Sirens in Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties will be only be activated for severe weather when a TORNADO WARNING has issued by the National Weather Service or a funnel cloud or tornado has been sighted by a local public safety official.  When a Tornado Warning is issued the outdoor warning sirens will sound for five (5) minutes.

Testing for the outdoor warning sirens will continue to be the on the first Wednesday of each month, at 12:00 p.m.  The tests are not conducted when there is the possibility of severe weather on that day.

Each County will retain the discretion to activate their Outdoor Warning Sirens for other significant emergencies (i.e. hazardous materials incident or enemy attack).

Whenever sirens sound citizens should TAKE COVER, TUNE IN to local TV or radio for emergency information and then TAKE ACTION for their safety based on the information received.

Citizens are also reminded that Outdoor Warning Sirens are not used to give an “ALL CLEAR” signal.  This information can be obtained from local TV and radio.  Repeated sounding of the sirens indicates additional warnings are being issued.  Lastly, Please DO NOT call 911 to inquire why the sirens are going off.  This can prevent true emergency calls from being answered.

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
Campbell County Office of Emergency Management
Boone County Emergency Management
Kenton County Homeland Security/Emergency Management

For more information contact:
William R. Turner, Campbell County EM Director 859-635-1111
Mark E. Ihrig, Boone County EM Director 859-334-2279
Steve Hensley, Kenton County HS/EM Director 859-392-1488