Whitestown increasing safety with 3 new tornado sirens
WHITESTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Whitestown is getting three new tornado sirens, bringing the town’s total number of sirens to five.
They were ordered back in May after residents complained they couldn’t hear the existing sirens during a tornado warning.
This week’s storm was just another reminder of why those sirens are so needed.
The timing of these sirens being ready for installation and another tornado threat this week was just a coincidence. But residents are glad they’ll be even better prepared in the future.
The sound of a siren could save lives when a tornado threatens a community, but the sirens could not be heard in some areas of Whitestown during a storm back in April.
“We couldn’t hear anything; could hear nothing when we had a problem back then,” resident Carol Zuccaro said.
Carol and Chris Zuccaro live in the Clark Meadows neighborhood, a development built in the last few years.
They said they’re too far away from the original sirens to hear them.
“Didn’t look like there was any problems out there whatsoever and then you look at the TV set and they’re telling you that the tornado is right nearby,” Chris Zuccaro said.
But on Friday, their level of safety increased.
A new siren was built just a block from their front door.
“It’s a big relief, it’s wonderful,” Carol said.
Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton said he heard from many people complaining that they didn’t feel properly warned after the April storms.
“I was flooded with emails, some people didn’t hear it,” he said.
So the town council approved three new sirens, and the order was just filled this week at a cost of $82,000.
As Whitestown increases its footprint, he feels it’s necessary for the town to grow the reach of its warning system.
“Let’s keep putting them up so that we have all the warning measures in place so people are as safe as they can possibly be,” Norton said.
“You very definitely need that because without that, you wouldn’t know that there’s any danger nearby,” Chris said.
The town has set aside funds for two more sirens next year, meaning in two years the town will have more than tripled its number of sirens, from two to seven.