PHOTO: Aerial view of the tornado damage in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The tornado cut a 10 mile path through the city. April 10, 2009 (photo GEORGE WALKER IV / THE TENNESSEAN)Having lived in Tennessee and Kentucky, I was especially horrified by the April 10th tornado in Murfreesboro, Tennessee (south of Nashville on I-24). The tornado damaged or destroyed many homes, took lives, and went on a 23 mile track of destruction.
National Weather Service forecasters issued warnings, but the problem is, as it is here in southern Maryland (that seems to be tornado-prone), that not everyone pays attention to the weather. SO, a network of tornado sirens are needed. People pay attention to those. When I was in school in Kentucky, the sirens went off and people took cover when a tornado was in the area. Otherwise thousands of students would have been open to injury or death.
Unfortunately, for the people in the county where Murfreesboro is, there is one siren in the entire county. That doesn't work. County leaders say they may revisit an idea nearly enacted eight years ago: building a network of sirens to let people know when a tornado warning has been issued. I think they need to work faster and get them up NOW. Other counties that experience tornadoes need them, too.
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