Why emergency sirens are crucial during severe storms

EDGEFIELD, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - If there’s a tornado in the area, seconds count.

A weather siren could be the difference between life and death, but depending on where you live, you may or may not hear that warning.

In Edgefield County, there are tornado sirens in every town.

“If your phone is dead or the power’s out, maybe your computer’s not working, or you don’t have a weather radio backup of some flavor. That’s the great thing about this. It is not reliant on anything,” said Foster Crowder, Edgefield EMA.

This is what Bridgette Brennan expected to hear in McDuffie County when she saw funnel clouds forming.

“I was expecting to hear the siren. I mean, considering being right down in the middle of town,” she said.

McDuffie officials say their siren went off at 4:45 p.m. but only reaches up to a mile.

“You didn’t hear nothing. It was quiet. I think that everything is so old-fashioned that we need to get up to date,” said Brennan. “All you saw in the sky was nothing but dark clouds coming over us. There was the funnel. It was calm, but then it got dark.”

Foster says sirens like the ones in Edgefield give people more prep time.

Brennan: “It’s very frustrating considering my daughter was at school.”

She hopes the town hall will make changes to the siren to make it louder, bringing more attention to their surroundings.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.