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(Iowa) -- Tornado sirens will sound in communities across the state at 10am Wednesday as part of the annual statewide tornado drill.
The drill is part of Severe Weather Awareness Week happening all week. Iowans across the state are encouraged to use the tornado drill as an opportunity to practice their emergency plan in case of severe weather. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management recommends taking three steps to plan ahead for severe weather:
- Make sure you have weather alerts and emergency notifications set up on your phone through Alert Iowa or other resource, as well as having an emergency NOAA Weather Radio on hand
- Create an emergency plan with your family and practice the plan ahead of time in case severe storms develop
- Have an emergency kit on hand with items like food, batteries, and other items your or your family might need in case you need to evacuate your property.
Allie Bright with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says sires are controlled locally, so they will not sound in every Iowa community at 10am Wednesday:
"Depending on where you live, sirens may do a test. Sirens are controlled at the local level, but we want everyone to act on Wednesday, March 25th, to go ahead and practice what they'd do in case they get that alert that there was a tornado warning in their area."
More information on Severe Weather Awareness Week as well as ways to stay weather aware is available on the ReadyIowa website.