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Whitestown: Tornado showed need for more sirens

Posted at 11:19 PM, Apr 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-29 23:19:27-04

WHITESTOWN, Ind. -- The community of Whitestown says one good thing came out of the destructive tornado that swept through Boone Co. this week: They realized sooner, rather than later, they aren't fully prepared for severe weather.

MORE | Tornado destroys barn, damages home in Boone Co.

As soon as a funnel cloud was spotted Thursday afternoon, the two tornado sirens in Whitestown were set off. With the three-and-a-half-mile sound radius for each siren, everyone should have heard them. But that wasn't the case.

"I was sitting right there and I was one my phone, and I didn't hear anything," said Whitestown resident Carol Zuccaro.

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Several residents, including Town Council member Kevin Russell, said the sirens didn't do the job.

"Some people were about to hear it," Russell said. "It's the acoustics and the way sound bounces, because the sires are so far away."

The city has deemed the issue an easy fix, though. The town council will vote on adding three more tornado sirens at a meeting next month.

The plan is expected to cost roughly $110,000.