The repeated tornado warnings across Nashville on Thursday caused some of the sirens to run out of battery and stop making noise, the Nashville Fire Department said.
In areas where the power went out, the sirens did not recharge until the electricity was restored. At least one siren in Parmer Park, in the southwestern part of the city, still remains out of service and will require repairs, the Fire Department said. The agency did not say how long that would take.
Nashville’s tornado warning system, operated by the city’s Office of Emergency Management, is designed to be heard outdoors and is not meant to alert people inside buildings or homes, the Fire Department said.
In Senatobia, Miss., about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn., officials tried to activate the emergency warning sirens ahead of the storm, but said they could not be activated because of “possible weather-related interference.” Officials said that they were working to fix the sirens as quickly as possible and encouraged residents to sign up for local emergency alerts on their cellphones.
Emergency management experts recommend that people have at least two ways to receive alerts about severe weather, including through radios or local meteorologists.
In the wildfire that devastated Maui in 2023, the county sent out an evacuation alert on cellphones, but many people said the message never reached their phones, underscoring the limitations of relying on a wireless alert system. More than 100 people died in the blaze.
Sara Ruberg covers breaking news and is a member of the 2024-25 class of Times Fellows, a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Sara Ruberg
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics. More about Amanda Holpuch
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