OXFORD, Miss. – Six new digital warning sirens with voice
capabilities are slated for testing at the University of
Mississippi Thursday (March 27) in preparation for a
possible tornado, earthquake, natural disaster or man-made
threat.
The testing is scheduled to begin around 9 a.m. and could
last several hours; students, faculty, staff and Oxford
area residents can expect to hear both voice testing and
siren sounds throughout the day, said Denny Buchannon,
project engineer in UM’s Physical Plant Department.
“Each siren will be tested by itself until all six are
working properly,” Buchannon said. “The tests will be as
short as possible. These tests are going to be slightly
disruptive at best.” With one mechanical siren and four
digital sirens previously posted, the new addition brings
the total number of sirens to 11. Once all sirens are
operational, voice announcements are to be added to the
weekly Wednesday siren tests, Buchannon said.
The voice tests and horn blasts should not last more than
30 seconds to a minute at each of the six new siren
locations, said James Windham, director of procurement
services and emergency management coordinator.
“In the event of an actual tornado on Thursday, people
would be able to recognize the differences between our
tests and the warnings,” Windham said. “If such a disaster
were imminent, the public should be aware of and follow
safety precautions such as taking cover, tuning into local
news broadcasts for more details, staying away from
windows and listening for further voice instructions.”
City and county officials have been alerted that the
testing is scheduled. In the event of an approaching
tornado or other imminent emergency, UM sirens are
triggered electronically by the county; they are also
connected to the city’s mechanical warning sirens, but can
be triggered separately, said Jimmy Allgood, Lafayette
County emergency management coordinator.
“Our office has a direct line to the National Weather
Service in Memphis,” Allgood said. “In the event of an
actual tornado, there’s a three-minute sustained blast, a
brief intermission, another two-minute blast and another
brief intermission. This cycle would continue until the
area is no longer considered to be under a tornado threat.
Five minutes after the last blast has ended, the public
should cautiously proceed to come from under cover and
await possible further warnings.”
For more information about the siren warning system at UM,
contact Denny Buchannon at 662-915-7051 or via e-mail at
dbuchann@olemiss.edu.