MINNEAPOLIS — Some residents of Hennepin County were scratching their heads Wednesday, wondering why outdoor emergency sirens went off not once, but twice in less than an hour.
Well, now we know.
Hennepin County Emergency Management (HCEM) posted on social media Thursday that the reason the sirens sounded at 1 p.m. (as scheduled) and then again around 1:45 p.m. (unscheduled) was an apparent software malfunction on one of several siren control computers. That, in turn, caused each and every one of the county's 292 emergency sirens to go off again, just 45 minutes after the regularly scheduled monthly test.
HCEM saw the glitch as a good opportunity to remind residents that if a siren sounds outside of the designated test time (1 p.m. first Wednesday of the month) and reports indicate severe weather is on the way, you are advised to do the following:
- Seek shelter in a building away from windows or lie in a low area away from cars. Cover your head with your arms. Don't go under an overpass.
- Tune in to local weather information on radio, television or online.
- Continue to shelter until the news on the radio, television or online say the threat has passed.
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