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Howland had tornado sirens that didn’t sound Sunday, too
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
In addition to technical problems that prevented Warren’s tornado sirens from sounding Sunday on the first attempt, Howland also had inoperable sirens.
Ernie Cook, Trumbull County 911 director, said Howland officials knew that four township sirens did not work before the tornado and were in the process of fixing them.
The Howland Fire Department was testing the other five township sirens Wednesday to determine how well they are working, Cook said, adding he doesn’t know how many of them worked Sunday. Those sirens do not report a confirmation back to the 911 center.
A call to Howland fire Chief James Pantalone was not returned Wednesday to The Vindicator, but 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, reported a fire official said none of the other five sounded, either.
About 3:30 p.m. Sunday, a tornado hit an area long Tod Avenue Northwest in Warren, damaging several houses. The tornado also damaged locations in Southington and Warren townships.
A separate tornado damaged areas in Vienna and Brookfield townships, but no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, Trumbull County Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa has contacted the Ohio Emergency Management Disaster Recovery Division in Columbus to find out whether any of the people who suffered damage Sunday qualify for financial assistance.
Cantalamessa said Wednesday he had not heard back from the agency.
Linda Beil, county Emergency Management Agency director, said she did not believe the county met the requirements for aid, which are 25 destroyed or significantly damaged homes. A significantly damaged home, for example, would be one in which half of it was destroyed.
The worst damage appears to have been to two homes on Wood Street in Brookfield, she said.
Many people called 911 after their power went out Sunday, Beil said, but it would be better if people called Ohio Edison at 1-888-544-4877 to avoid tying up the 911 lines.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood warning for Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties until 8 p.m. today.
The warning was issued because of moderate to heavy rain expected tonight combined with the excessive rainfall in the area over the past few days, according to the NWS.
To date, the Mahoning Valley has recorded the sixth wettest June in history, according to the NWS.