WEST MICHIGAN -- If you heard sirens going off in your neighborhood around 1:00 PM, there was no need to worry. Today was Michigan's annual statewide tornado drill, which encourages emergency managers across the state to test tornado sirens in their area.
Even though many people rely on newer technology like cell phones for tornado warnings, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff says tornado sirens are still relevant. Cell phone towers can be damaged during severe weather, and certain rural areas may not have cell phone service to begin with.
“I think they do save lives," says Richard Fuller, Kalamazoo County Sheriff. "And one of the things that people should know is we have changed over the years the way we operate the sirens. In the past, if there was a tornado coming into the area of the north end of the county, all of the sirens would be activated and then the people in the south end of the county would be confused because it could be beautiful and sunny and it was a bother for them to try and figure out what was going on. And so now they are more active according to the area that is going to be affected.”
Sheriff Fuller adds that testing tornado sirens on a regular basis is crucial to making sure they're ready to go off when an actual tornado threatens an area.
