Area agencies plan weather siren tests
Published 11:00 pm Friday, August 24, 2012
If you hear a weather siren this weekend, it will only be a test.
A number of representatives from area agencies and organizations, including the Troy Police Department and the Pike County Emergency Management Agency, met Friday afternoon in advance of the first hurricane that could bring excessive rain and severe weather to Pike County.
On Sunday, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., the EMA will test outdoor weather sirens.
EMA Director Jeanna Barnes said the time was picked because most people who live outside any city limits should be home and be able to hear the sirens.
“People shouldn’t be alarmed,” Barnes said. “We simply want to see if the sirens are working correctly.”
In Troy, the sirens are expected to be tested Monday.
“We’ll be monitoring activity of the storm this weekend,” said Troy Police Sgt. Benny Scarbrough. “If the situation changes, we’ll bump our scheduled time to Saturday or Sunday.”
That’s because, according to Police Chief Jimmy Ennis, they don’t want to test sirens during inclement weather.
Troy sirens are usually tested the first Wednesday of the months, but Scarbrough said, since it is the end of a month a test was necessary before a possible tropical storm affects the area.
The tests will not be the full siren sounding that would happen in case of bad weather. The tests will be short burts, Scarbrough said.