Kalamazoo’s Sirens Get A Monthly Test This Saturday

The city of Kalamazoo has informed its residents that they plan on testing sirens on Saturday, April 4.

Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about sirens, why only some of them go off at certain times while others remain silent. This is a problem we have been seeing for a while now, and some people believe the cuts to the NOAA and the National Weather Service are to blame, but the city of Kalamazoo’s trying it absolute best to make sure that its residents are warned anytime there is a major catastrophe.

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In a Facebook post, they announced the test would be running:

The City of Kalamazoo would like to inform residents that its outdoor warning sirens will be tested on Saturday, April 4th, at 1:00 PM. This test is part of the monthly schedule—held on the first Saturday of each month at 1:00 PM through September—and aligns with the same day and time used by neighboring jurisdictions.

Another important note they shared was that sirens are particularly used to alert citizens who are outdoors to seek shelter, and offered a tip to those who may be indoors while sirens are going off:

Please note that outdoor emergency sirens are not designed to be heard indoors. It is common for people inside buildings to not hear them. These sirens are intended to alert citizens to seek shelter in a sturdy building as quickly as possible. We also recommend using additional ways to receive emergency alerts, such as TV, radio, cell phone notifications - IPAWS, and RAVE.

Someone was feeling funny and suggested in the comments that warning sirens should sound every time there is a water boil advisory, to which another person replied, "they’d never stop."