The ubiquitous sound of tornado sirens on a clear Monday has been around for generations, but when the warning devices were first installed in the early 1950s, inclement weather was an afterthought. Harvey County Communications Director Don Gruver said when the sirens were first installed, their purpose was to warn residents of a nuclear attack from America’s old nemesis, the Soviet Union. Wichita became the first city to use the civil defense sirens to warn of an approaching tornado in June 1958. He said cities used also them for other purposes – a lunch whistle at noon and to alert volunteer firefighters about a fire – before they became a universe warning for a tornado. Halstead Fire/EMS Director Anderson Lowe new sirens the city installed within the past year had the capability for a flood-warning alert or if the levee protecting the city would have a breach during a high water event. “I don’t know if I’ve heard that one,” he said. While most cities had upgraded their warning systems over the years, Gruver said smaller cities like Burrton and Walton still had old sirens dating back to the 1950s or 1960s until recently.
Source: Harvey County Now
