Politics & Government

New Sirens will Speak: 'This is the National Weather Service . . .'

Agency will activate alarms in event of a tornado warning

There will be no guessing what it means when Strongsville's new go off.

There will be a tone, followed by a voice command from the National Weather Service.

"When these go off, anyone who hears them needs to take shelter," said John Bedford, the city's director of technology.

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The sirens are at seven city parks to alert people on the fields that a tornado has been spotted.

They are not intended to alert residents citywide.

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While in other communities, sirens are activated by the police or fire department, often leading to a flood of phone calls to dispatchers from residents asking why they are sounding, in Strongsville, they will be activated by the National Weather Service only when it has issued a tornado warning.

"We are setting our digital tones for only a tornado warning in Cuyahoga County," Bedford said.

A total of eight sirens are slated for seven city parks, including Ehrnfelt Baseball Diamonds on Royalton Road; Volunteer Park on Lunn Road; the Youth Sports Park on Lunn Road; Surrarrer Park at Whitney and Webster roads; Nichols Field on the corner of Marks and Sprague roads and Recreation Park 3 at Drake and Prospect. Two systems are to be installed at Foltz Park.

The cost is $2,600 per .

Ward 3 Councilman Mark Roth, who has been asking for warning sirens since 1989, said that while he still wants sirens that would sound citywide, this is a good start.

Bedford said some residents who live near the parks might hear the sirens when they sound. They are intended, though, for people in the parks or on the ballfields who might be unaware a tornado has been spotted, officials said.

They are expected to be operational within a few weeks.


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