Worth of warning sirens weighed in Jackson, Cape

Outdoor warning sirens at Southeast Missouri State University alerted both students and Cape Girardeau residents to the threat of a tornado Tuesday night.

Some residents said it underscored a need for citywide warning sirens.

After witnessing the destruction caused by a tornado that plowed through Jackson, the mayors of Cape Girardeau and Jackson said Wednesday that both cities probably need to look at the possibility of installing warning sirens.

The university's $140,000 warning system has seven sirens placed around campus. It's designed to alert students, faculty and staff on campus of natural disasters and other emergencies.

But on Tuesday night, the sirens were heard by residents throughout much of Cape Girardeau, including some who live west of Mount Auburn Road.

"People heard them everywhere," said Doug Richards, director of public safety at the university.

He said it's unusual for the sirens, which have been in place since April 2001, to be heard more than a few blocks beyond the campus. Richards said the wind and weather conditions must have been just right for the sirens to be heard in neighborhoods miles from campus.

Margaret Whiteman, 83, said she and other family members moved into the basement of their home at 1428 Price St., a few blocks west of the Show Me Center and north of the main part of the campus when the sirens sounded.

Whiteman said the sirens regularly can be heard at her home when they are tested each month.

"The warning system is terrific," said Whiteman, who has lived through three tornadoes in Illinois, Texas and Arkansas.

The sirens typically are tested on the first Wednesday of every month. But university officials decided against doing so Wednesday in the aftermath of the destructive storm because of concern that people would believe a tornado had been spotted.

The sirens are next scheduled to be tested on June 4.

Jenny Borel said she was surprised to hear the campus sirens Tuesday night from her third-floor apartment on Clark Street. "I knew what it was," said Borel, who moved to the safety of a friend's basement until the storm passed.

Too costly

Mayor Jay Knudtson said Cape Girardeau city officials have looked at installing sirens, but so far have found it too costly because of the hilly terrain.

"We would need about 25 sirens spread throughout the town at a cost of about $25,000 per siren," said Knudtson, who heard the campus sirens Tuesday night from his home west of Mount Auburn Road.

The area's Charter Communications cable television system alerted area viewers of severe weather Tuesday night with a text message on all its cable channels that instructed people to tune to local access Channel 11 for further information from the National Weather Service.

"It's a good way to notify people," said Deb Seidel, a spokeswoman for Charter Communications in St. Louis. "It worked well."

Area residents also can receive warnings from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios, which can run on batteries and be set to only sound in case of a severe weather warning in a specific county.

Still, Knudtson, who has a weather radio, said Cape Girardeau needs to revisit the issue of sirens in light of the Jackson tornado.

Cape Girardeau installed a dozen warning sirens in 1980 at a cost of $110,000. But the city council soon voted to remove them after tests showed the sirens couldn't he heard throughout the city.

More recent councils also have been unwilling to spend money on warning sirens.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said officials in his city over the past 17 years never considered installing tornado warning sirens. But Sander said it's something that city officials now should investigate.

Sander said the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson might want to jointly consider purchasing warning sirens, which might make the idea more economical.

Southeast's safety director said outdoor warning systems are worth the cost.

Campus police activated the warning sirens just before a tornado ripped through Jackson around 8:50 p.m.

The sirens were activated twice Tuesday in three-minute intervals that were separated by a five-minute break.

The tornado warning prompted evacuation of classrooms and dorm rooms, as well as a concert at Academic Hall Auditorium by the Choral Union and the university choir and symphony.

Over 500 audience members and performers crowded into the basement hallway in Academic Hall and in a basement room under the stage.

"We didn't know if we were going to be hit by a tornado or not," said concert conductor Dr. John Egbert, associate professor of music. The delayed lasted about half an hour, then performers returned to the stage and finished the concert.

Fittingly, Egbert said, a Schubert piece asking for God's mercy was being performed when university officials halted the concert. When it resumed, the concert concluded with Beethoven's celebratory piece, "Gloria."

"I'm sure everybody's adrenaline was pumping at that point," Egbert said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123