Tornado readiness urged during Wednesday test

Zach Tuggle Lou Whitmire
Mansfield News Journal
Tornado sirens across the state, like this one outside the Madison Township Fire Department, will go off Wednesday morning as part of a statewide tornado drill.

MANSFIELD - Tornado readiness is the goal of a statewide tornado drill planned for every Emergency Alert System in Ohio at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday.

Ohio counties will use the time to sound and test their outdoor warning sirens. Schools, businesses and households are also encouraged to practice their tornado drills and emergency plans. Sirens in both Richland and Crawford counties will be tested during the drill.

The event is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, as coordinated by the Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness, according to Mike Bailey, director of the Richland County Emergency Management Agency.

"If you hear the siren go off, you should take shelter," Bailey said. "Go to an area of safety inside a building, a low point in the structure."

He said the sirens only go off in life-or-death situations, and can sometimes only be a few seconds ahead of a tornado.

"They can come up very quickly, and they can be very deadly," Bailey said.

He said everyone should remember the acronym DUCK in a tornado: get down to lowest level away from windows, get under something like a staircase, table or desk, then cover your head and keep in shelter until the storm has passed.

"My thought process is to always be aware," Bailey said.

In a tornado or other severe event, the sirens will blow for a solid three minutes at the start of the emergency, then will blow "all clear" for 30 seconds once the threat is gone, Bailey said.

Residents of Crawford County are asked to pay special attention to protocol during the drill, said Jette Cander, deputy director of the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency.

"It's about having a plan, watching out for the weather, knowing what you should look for and things along those lines," Cander said.

Those who live outside city limits should remember that tornado sirens are only meant to notify people who are outside their home at the time of the storm, Cander said, and not those indoors. Anyone inside should rely upon weather radios, television stations, cell phones and their computers to receive immediate weather alerts.

Making sure an alerting device is always on the ready is part of Wednesday's drill.

"If you do not have a weather radio, then I would highly recommend it," Bailey said. "We have weather radios here for sale — we don’t make a penny on them — they’re $23."

Two tornadoes ripped through Crawford County and into Richland County last year. It was a high number of tornadoes, but also proof that people should be ready for a tornado to strike at any time.

"We’ve actually had very few tornadoes within the county," Cander said. "It’s normally several years between and they’re usually very rural, very small with minimal damage — nothing like we saw last year."

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

Twitter: @zachtuggle