Powell pushing for its own tornado sirens

POWELL, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Around central Ohio, there has been a lot of talk about tornado sirens, with Ohio having more than 40 confirmed tornadoes so far this year

One Delaware County city is trying to be more prepared, with the city of Powell looking to install tornado sirens.

The city reached out to Delaware County Emergency Management after storms earlier this year. Some long-time Powell residents said it’s about time.

“This is a little dramatic, but I think it’s an American right to have a tornado siren in your town,” Powell resident Dana Waldron said.

Waldron, who has live in Powell for more than 20 years, said that during the storms Tuesday, it was Dublin’s siren they heard go off.

“I live in Powell. I shouldn’t have to depend on the city next to me,” she said. “They should be here. Like what year is it? 2024 and we don’t have tornado sirens. Pretty ridiculous.”

Another long-time Powell resident said she heard the Franklin County city’s siren too.

“We’ve wanted it since we’ve lived here. We can hear Dublin but Dublin, you know, is Franklin County and we’re Delaware County,” resident Rhonda Worcester said. “So when their’s goes off, it doesn’t necessarily mean that ours needs to go off.”

She thinks having a siren in Powell will make people take the threat more seriously.

“A lot of times I think people are complacent because they hear the alarm, they think, ‘Oh, that’s Franklin County. That’s not going to be us,’” Worcester said.

Delaware County Emergency Management said it’s important to rely on more than just the sirens, incorporating local news, phone alerts and even a weather radio into their warning planning. However, the sirens are an important step that can help.

“Powell reached out to us shortly after the tornado event that happened in late February ,” Delaware County Emergency Management Director Alex McCarthy said. “Now that one didn’t impact Delaware County directly, but after that, we had a few jurisdictions reach out, which was nice.”

Another resident said she was in her basement for an hour and a half Tuesday night during the storms.

Powell’s city manager said they did not have time for an interview on Wednesday.

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