County: Low battery caused tornado siren malfunction, overnight noise

Thomas Hartwell, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·1 min read

Jun. 13—Cobb County officials say "low battery condition" was the reason for a tornado siren that was reported to have been making noise overnight Saturday and into early Sunday morning, despite no severe weather in the area.

County officials say residents near the West Cobb Aquatic Center reported hearing thumping sounds from a siren on Macland Road Saturday and Sunday. Crews investigated Sunday morning, and a test by the Cobb County Emergency Management Agency showed the low battery, the county posted on Facebook Sunday afternoon.

"The system silently tests each siren every day, but when the low batteries prevented the test, it resulted in 'thumping' sounds coming out of the siren," the county's Facebook post reads. "That continued as the system attempted to complete the silent test. EMA is testing the system today."

The county said Cobb EMA asked Cobb EMC to cut power to the siren when noise was reported, but "that operation took several hours."

Normally issues like these are discovered during a monthly test of the sirens, but those tests had been suspended during the pandemic, the post said.

To run a complete system diagnostic and prevent other siren malfunctions, the county says the monthly tests will return in July.

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