The Siren Board

News reports just after the tornado said only two sirens were not functioning. But looking at the area directly affected by the tornado, it would seem more than that number would have been blown down and destroyed. They could not have survived a direct hit - or could they?

Joplin MO, sirens are all 2001's

Originally the whole system wouldn't activate when they tested it the next day, but it seems that glitch was easily fixed.
An only the two were reported as non-functional.

No word on known damaged, destroyed sirens. So don't know if they were counting them or not.

I also read that there were two sirens not functioning but according to what I have mapped of their system, 4 or 5 of their sirens were in or near the path of the tornado. The one near the high school was temporarily replaced with a mobile Whelen WPS-2903 until another 2001 can be put up.

As far as what Joplin has, I've found most if not all of their Allertors have been replaced with 2001s. They also have (or had) a couple Federal Thunderbeams as well as an ACA P-50.

One thing I also want to note is that for those of you that have seen the video taken from inside the convenience store as the tornado hit, that store was located at E 20th St. and Duquesne St. Directly across the street from that store was one of Joplin's TBeams and was taken out by the tornado.

I don't think Joplin ever had a P-50, where was it at? I think someone mentioned a while back Joplin had some Soundmasters.

I found the P-50 while trying to map out all of Joplin's sirens using news articles from the area and Bing Live maps. It took me completely by surprise.

The P-50 is located within Joplin city limits up closer to Webb City in an industrial park. It's on Enterprise Ave. between N. Progress Ave. and the railroad tracks. What's also interesting is it's mounted like a lot of the Allertors in Joplin were; on two parallel beams supported by two telephone poles.

BTW, I have yet to find any Soundmasters or even a remnant of one in or around Joplin.

There was a Thunderbeam @ 25th & Texas in Joplin - not sure if that was in the area impacted by the tornado, or perhaps just south of it.