LAKEVILLE, Minn. - You could say Dan and Rhonda Rousseau are a lucky couple.
A tree missed their Lakeville house by just inches during Tuesday's early morning storm and landed instead in the driveway, where the car was supposed to be.
"We thought, you know, we better put the car inside just in case we have some hail. It [the car] was right where the tree fell so we got lucky we didn't leave it out," Rhonda said.
There were also lucky enough to have a weather radio, which alerted them at 4 a.m. of severe weather.
"We went downstairs and heard and incredible loud wind and lots of lighting," Rhonda said.
But not everyone is as vigilant as the Rousseaus. In fact, a recent public safety survey found nearly 70 percent of those surveyed are unaware of the sounds and sirens associated with various warnings.
That's frustrating for people like Eric Waage, whose job as the director of Hennepin County Emergency Management, it is to make sure people are safe.
"One of the frequent questions we here is 'Why can't I hear a siren inside my house. Well, you can't hear it because it's not designed to warn you inside your house. It's an outdoor warning sign system," Waage said.
Sirens are just one component of a vast system to keep you safe.
If you hear a steady tone called an "alert," in many instances it means severe weather is in the area, according to Waage.
If you hear a siren where the tone rises and falls, it's called an "attack" warning. It's used only when an enemy is attacking, for example if there is a terrorist attack.
No matter what you hear or where you hear it, the next steps for safety will always be the same.
"Get inside and get information. Those are the two actions that you need to take," Waage said.
He said people should get information on their smart phone, through television or radio.
Quick information and action helped the Rouseaus survive severe weather. It's something they don't take lightly.
"Just don't mess with it. Just get to safety," Rhonda said
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