HANCOCK COUNTY, Ind. -- If you live in Hancock County you may want to have a backup plan when it comes to listening for severe weather. City officials said five of the county’s 26 tornado sirens are broken, and others are in need of repairs.
Hancock County Commissioner John Jessup said the issue was discovered during routine weekly siren tests.
Jessup blames the broken sirens on poor maintenance upkeep by the city.
"Part of the problem is that historically siren systems have been maintained by local fire departments or the township level. What we are trying to do is bring it together under one umbrella, so maintenance doesn't fall behind, and small fire departments don't lose funding or get behind on funding and just don't take care of it,” said Jessup.
Jessup said it would cost nearly $500,000 update and repair the broken sirens in the county. He plans to meet with the Hancock City Council as early as Wednesday to request the money for those repairs.
Jessup said all future maintenance and upkeep of the county’s tornado sirens would be assigned to the emergency operations center.
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