Outdoor siren in Abbeville, College Hill still down

Two outdoor warning sirens in the county are still not working and emergency management officials are reminding residents not to rely on just outdoor sirens to know when a tornado or other threat is headed their way.

According to Lafayette County Public Information Office Beau Moore, the siren in College Hill near the fire station has been out of service for about six weeks. The siren had a failure of the central processing unit board and a replacement board has been ordered. Once it arrives county crews will install the new board.

On Dec. 5 in Abbeville, the pole supporting the siren rotted below ground level and collapsed, damaging the siren head in the process. While replacement parts have been ordered, Moore said it could take another six weeks for them to arrive.

While the outdoor warning sirens are another tool to alert citizens, the shouldn’t be the only one, Moore said, even when they are working properly.

“Outdoor warning sirens are not intended to be heard indoors,” he said. “Their range under perfect conditions is 1 to 2 miles. It’s extremely important to have multiple ways to receive notifications.”

Other ways to receive warnings include the Lafayette County Sheriff’s app, the Lafayette County EMA app, CodeRed, the Nixle app via the city of Oxford and having a NOAA weather radio.

“If any citizen needs help getting these resources, they can contact our office and we will be happy to help them,” Moore said.