A tornado warning siren caused damage to multiple vehicles after it was toppled over Thursday afternoon by what was believed to be strong wind gusts in Upper Arlington.
Kelly McGuire, public information officer with Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security, said the tornado siren, which was on Coventry Road near Jones Middle School, toppled over and damaged four vehicles. County emergency management staff went out to the scene to inspect the damage and determine a cause, which is still under investigation.
“They are still investigating, but it’s possibly due to the wind,” said McGuire. The highest wind gust reported Thursday was at 44 mph between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
There were no reported injuries, according to McGuire.
Darrel Koerber, deputy director of the county emergency management agency, said that in an ironic twist, the agency was in talks with Upper Arlington officials anyway to have the 30-foot-tall siren moved to a new location. The siren was in Upper Arlington’s jurisdiction and is owned by the city, and the agency just helps with maintenance.
Both Koerber and McGuire acknowledged the concern that some folks have of not having a way to be warned of severe weather due to the siren’s collapse, but said that there are a multitude of ways that people can be warned of tornadoes and other severe weather. Plus, they both said, the risk of tornadoes at this time of year is low.
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“Obviously this takes a piece out of our (emergency notification) system, but we have several ways to notify people of things like tornadoes,” Koerber said. He also said that the siren will more than likely not be repaired, but will be replaced altogether.
McGuire said that the individuals whose vehicles were damaged will work with Upper Arlington to cover the cost of repairs.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tornado siren topples over, damages four vehicles in Upper Arlington
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