Sirens were silent when tornado hit NW Rochester

Ten emergency warning sirens failed to sound in northwest Rochester last week just before a tornado hit the area.

Olmsted County Deputy Mike Bromberg tells the Post-Bulletin of Rochester that the problem is being blamed on a software glitch that told the sirens to cancel instead of sound.

He says the problem was fixed the next morning.

The county emergency operations center received four or five complaints about the sirens, but he says no one was injured in Rochester by the storms.

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The storm system caused widespread damage throughout the state on Thursday, killing three and injuring dozens. Gov. Tim Pawlenty declared a state of emergency in seven counties, including Olmsted.

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Information from: Post-Bulletin

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)