taken from The News Star - April 14, 2012- http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012204150313

Storms raise alarms
 
Written by
Greg Hilburn

When the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Sterlington and Ouachita Parish before dawn on April 5, few people were aware of the danger as they slept.

"We know stuff is happening, and there are storms out there with rotation, but we just haven't had any ground reports yet because it's still dark and people are still asleep," Aaron Stevens of the National Weather Service's Shreveport office told The News-Star early that morning during the storm. "That's when there's the most danger because people are unaware and unprotected."

Luckily, no tornado touched down in Sterlington that morning, but the increased threat of tornadic activity and severe storms during the past three years caused by La Nina created heightened anxiety.

The best way to protect yourself if you're in the path of the storm is to seek the sturdiest shelter, like a bathtub in an interior room, but you have to know the tornado is coming.

Last summer, Ouachita Parish officials began exploring the possibility of installing a parishwide siren system that would belt out an unmistakable warning, but Homeland Security Director Tracy Hilburn said those plans have been shelved because they are cost prohibitive.

"It would cost millions of dollars, and the funding we had hoped to secure from a federal hazard mitigation grant is no longer available for pre-mitigation," Hilburn said.

But Don Wheeler, an assistant professor of science at Louisiana Delta Community College and a veteran storm chaser, said the siren system would be considered a bargain if a tornado touches down.

"They're expensive, but how do you put a value on human life," Wheeler said. "There's definitely a great need because people turn off their TVs and radios at night. We need them badly. There's no mistaking the sound of that siren. You'll never forget it if you've ever heard one.

"There is one (siren) unit at (the University of Louisiana at Monroe), but it only covers the campus. I'm looking into the possibility of getting one for our (Delta) campus. Sooner or later we're going to get a direct hit, and then we'll be wondering why we didn't pursue a siren system. The odds are against us."

But Hilburn said the sirens aren't mean to be heard indoors, "so if it happens at night and people are asleep, it wouldn't help."

He said Ouachita Parish, through the state of Louisiana, will have another warning system in place by the end of the summer.

The Alert FM system, which will be delivered through $35 to $40 radios on an FM frequency, "will definitely wake you up".

"It gives you the ability to get custom messages to specific ZIP codes and is tied to the National Weather Service and Homeland Security," Hilburn said. "It does more than a weather radio because it can direct messages to specific areas in the path of the storm."

Hilburn said he'll be working with the school systems to provide larger FM Alert radios for them and hopes nonprofit groups will raise money to provide the FM Alert radios to people who can't afford them.

"It's the best option we have for now," said Hilburn, who begins training on the system in May and hopes the radios are available to the public by June.

For those without access to computers, radios or TVs, which can be useless if the electricity fails during a storm, people can call the United Way of Northeastern Louisiana's 211 on their cell or land lines for updated warnings.

"We'll absolutely have the most updated information on a 24-hour availability," said Janet Durden of the United Way. "It's completely in sync with the National Weather Service and Homeland Security."

Wheeler said in the absence of dedicated warning systems, people should be proactive when they know there is a threat of severe weather.

"If you know it's a possibility, be alert and get as much information as possible from any source you can access," he said. "That awareness could save your life."
But Hilburn said the sirens aren't mean to be heard indoors, "so if it happens at night and people are asleep, it wouldn't help."

Ouachita Parish news story.pdf (778.87 kb)