Mobile County Getting More Tornado Sirens

Good news on the horizon about preparing for tornadoes and bad weather in Mobile County.
The Mobile County Emergency Management Agency is getting more tornado sirens.
Some will be covering areas that don't have the sirens now.
Agency Director Walt Dickerson says, "We've had a siren study done in Mobile County telling us how many sirens we need. That number is about 104, and we have about 52 at this point in time."
But the good news is the agency has gotten federal money to buy and install extra sirens in parts of Prichard, Irvington, Dauphin Island and Satsuma.
The agency has also received sirens donated from officials in another part of Alabama where they had more than they needed.
Dickerson says, "We've gotten our hands on some sirens from Anniston and we now have about 15 of them."
And Dickerson says another area that needs sirens is west Mobile.
The donated sirens still have to be upgraded and could take about a year to be installed.
The ones for Satsuma and the three other cities could be put up within a few months.

If you live in Mobile County, and your phone number is listed in the phone book, you'll receive emergency phone calls from the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency.
In December, the Mobile County EMA used the system for the first time.
Mobile County EMA says they'll call for tornado warnings, hazardous spills, and possibly hurricane evacuation areas.
If your number is not listed, you can sign up online on the City of Mobile's website.

Click here to sign up for News 5 First Alert Storm Alerts. They can be sent to your e-mail, Cell Phone or PDA

Click here to find out how to get a discount on NOAA Weather Radios.

Do you have any pictures of storm damage? Send them to News 5. We might even use them on the air.