Every outdoor warning siren in Cherokee County has stopped working, and Tropical Storm Arthur is on its way.
What’s happening: All 58 sirens are out. A maintenance vendor is working on a fix, but no one has said whether the repairs will be done before the storm gets here.
What’s important: Outdoor sirens are built to warn people who are outside. They are not meant to alert people inside homes or buildings. Even in normal conditions, officials say people should have more than one way to get storm warnings.
How this affects real people: Cherokee County residents will not hear a siren warning during Tropical Storm Arthur. Here are other ways to get alerts:
- RAVE Alert: Text CHEROKEEEMA to 226787 or go to cherokeega-ema.org to sign up for county emergency notifications.
- NOAA Weather Radio: These devices receive government weather alerts directly. They are sold at Walmart, Target, and Ace Hardware. Amazon Prime members can order one for overnight delivery.
- News apps: Local TV news station apps will push weather alerts to your phone if you are signed up.
The path forward: There is no confirmed timeline for when the sirens will be back online. Residents who have depended on outdoor sirens as their main storm warning have no backup from that system for now.
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
- B.T. Clark
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