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Tornado siren failures in Licking County

A failure rate of 20 percent means local governments will need to pay for the repairs.

When tornado sirens are activated people outside are supposed to hear them for miles.

But in some areas of Licking County, it's the sound of silence.

Eleven of its 56 sirens failed to wail when tested in April.

Homeowner Bill Payne lives down the street from a siren on Horns Hill Road which failed the test.

"It doesn't really bug me if we're hit we're hit," he said.

Eric and Robin Hill live near the same tornado siren.

"It's a little concerning when you here there are tornado is in the area and the tornado sirens don't work it's more than a cause for a little concern yeah," said Eric Hill.

"The assumption is everyone has a smart phone. If your phone isn't charged or your power goes out I know there are people in licking county who rely on those sirens," said Robin Hill.

A siren at Granville Intermediate School also failed. In Ohio, there's no law that requires cities or townships to have tornado sirens, so when they fail, there's no requirement they be repaired.

Etna Township just paid $6,000 to fix its tornado siren that failed.

Some homeowners said there's good reason to pay to have the sirens working and not replace them with a text alert on cell phones.

Unlike Franklin County, which has a contract to repair broken sirens around the area based on fees paid to it by local jurisdictions, Licking County does not.

Licking County's Emergency Management Director said he's considering coming up with a similar arrangement.

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