Ann Arbor decides against getting rid of sirens after overnight tornado hits city
Ann Arbor no longer getting rid of tornado sirens
The west side of Ann Arbor near Veterans Park really took the brunt of the tornado and storms that moved through. You can see some of the damage behind me.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (FOX 2) - A confirmed EF-1 tornado ripped through Ann Arbor in the early hours of Wednesday morning, knocking down walls on buildings and uprooting some big trees.
In the aftermath, Ann Arbor city officials say they are no longer looking at getting rid of the outdoor public sirens which helped keep people safe.
Big picture view:
The west side of Ann Arbor near Veterans Park really took the brunt of the tornado and storms that moved through. You can see some of the damage behind me.
A wall collapsed at the Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena. There was also damage at the Yost Ice Arena at the University of Michigan.
Wall torn off at Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena in Ann Arbor
In Ann Arbor, Veterans Memorial Park Ice Arena was ripped apart from severe weather. A confirmed tornado did hit Ann Arbor, with several more being reported across the state. Video Credit: City of Ann Arbor
Many homes on the city’s west side also saw some big pine trees go down or get ripped from their foundation.
Dig deeper:
Meantime, Ann Arbor City officials said today they will not decommission more than 20 sirens in what was a possible move to trim several hundred thousand dollars from the city budget while using a cell phone alert system instead.
People FOX 2 talked with say the sirens definitely did the job right.
"The sirens were incredibly loud. Louder than I ever heard anything, the wind was very loud, shrill and when you looked out the window," said Eric Engel. "I didn’t even rain, it was just this blur of creamy grey moisture."
"I think people just felt comfort that there was going to be this extra layer. Sometimes the phone isn’t available," said Mayor Christopher Taylor. "You might not rely upon the phone to wake you up in the middle of the night whereas the siren tends to do the job."
NWS: Five tornadoes touched down across Southeast Michigan overnight
A sleepless night for many across Southeast Michigan after multiple tornado warnings hit the area in the early morning hours of Wednesday. Now the NWS is confirming a few tornadoes have touched down in the state.
What's next:
The Mayor says the city would have saved several hundred dollars by shutting down the sirens since they wouldn’t have to pay the cost of bringing them up to code.
Instead, we were told the savings would be sought in other areas, but the city does have a balanced budget.
The Source: FOX 2 talked with Ann Arbor residents and the mayor for information in this report.