Only half of Pendleton County, Kentucky's outdoor warning sirens are working, the director of the county's emergency management agency admitted Tuesday.
"They're not sounding off," director Mike Moore said. "For whatever reason."
At least one, according to resident Todd Morton, has been silent for at least two years. Moore said he wouldn't dispute that claim -- and Morton said he worried the difference between being near a working siren and being far away could be the different between life and death in an emergency.
"The few minutes that we get from that tornado siren going off is going to save a life," he said.
He was especially concerned, he said, after having experienced damaging tornadoes in the area in 2012.
Moore said the cost of repairs to all three nonfunctioning sirens would total more than $30,000, and he needs the approval of other county officials to begin working on them.
Until all three are fixed, he encouraged concerned county residents to pay attention to phone alerts about severe weather and to purchase a weather radio.
