When severe storm sirens blare, many people know that's an urgent warning to take cover quickly.  However, a Contact KY3 investigation found, as more people move into the Ozarks, many find that warning isn't available.

  Using Global Positioning Satellite coordinates, mapping software and Census Bureau statistics, Matt Petcoff, an intern, and I spent months tracking down every storm siren in 10 counties that have historically been targets for tornadoes. We found that many people in those counties would have no way to know when a tornado is on the way if they relied solely on a county-or city-operated storm siren system.

If this map shows you should be able to hear a storm siren when you're outside your home, but you believe you can't, send us an e-mail message.

  On May 4, 2003, at least 15 tornadoes caused widespread damage and 25 deaths in southwest Missouri.  The tornadoes wiped out the central business districts of Pierce City and Stockton, and the city hall and fire station in Battlefield.

  On March 12, 2006, more than a dozen tornadoes moved through the area, killing two people, injuring 30 more and damaging or destroying more than 550 homes.  The track of this storm looked eerily similar to the one on in 2003. Those in its path couldn't believe it.

  Mike and Arlene Fields of Billings are living in their third home on the same tract of land -- after tornadoes took the first two.

  “We replaced the house and cleaned up the yard, but there's a lot of things you can't replace,” said Mike Fields.

  Their only warning last March was a phone call from their son.

  “We probably wouldn't have survived,” said Mike Fields.

  If it weren't for a telephone call from their son, the Fields likely wouldn't have been able to get out of the house and to an underground shelter fast enough. That's because the nearest storm siren is more than four miles away.

   “We don't have any out here,” said Mike Fields.

  Our investigation finds the Fields are joined by hundreds of thousands of other homeowners.

   This map shows the coverage area of every storm siren in a 10-county area. They can alert 350,000 residents that a tornado could be on the way but leave almost 170,000 in silence.  That's almost a third of the population who couldn’t hear a siren.  Outside of Greene County, more than half of the population can’t hear sirens.

  One of the areas of concern is the newly consolidated Republic and Brookline area.   It has miles of uncovered territory.

  “I think there's been a period of time where we think cities will provide and take care of us, but unfortunately, that can't always be the case,” said Lynn Hollandworth, Republic’s emergency management director.

  Hollandworth says it all comes down to money.

  “Each unit was $20,304,” said Hollandworth, “Not cheap.”

  Money is also a problem in fast-growing Christian County, where more than a third of the residents have no siren coverage.  And, despite watching dozens of rural homeowners like the Fields get hit by tornadoes, not once but twice, county leaders have no plans to add them.

  “For us to put sirens where everyone in county could hear it would cost us millions of dollars,” said Phil Amtower, Christian County’s emergency management director.

  Amtower estimates it would cost about $200 million to cover the entire county.

  “It's really not cost effective,” he said.

   That's little consolation to rural residents.  In fact, the tracks of the tornadoes show rural areas have been hit much harder than cities and towns.  Yet, rural counties have far fewer sirens. 

  In Stone County, 58 percent of the residents are uncovered.  That means almost 17,000 people have no siren protection.

  In Taney and Polk counties, more than 63 percent of residents can’t hear a siren.  Dallas County has just two sirens in the entire county, leaving more than three-fourths of its 29,000 residents without siren warnings. And the numbers are only going to grow.

   “In the country, there are so many subdivisions that it’s more populated than it used to be,” said Arlene Fields.

  Tornadoes don't discriminate between populated and rural areas, so the Fields say county and city leaders shouldn’t do so either.

   “Most towns wouldn't be without a warning system.  Nearly every town, even little ones have one, so they should have it in rural areas,” said Arlene Fields.

   It's important to note that storm sirens are not designed to be heard inside well-insulated homes.  Emergency management directors across the area say a much more reliable way to keep your family safe is to buy a weather radio.