VENTURA COUNTY ROUNDUP : Ventura : Flood Warning System to Be Tested

Tests of the new flood warning system installed during seismic strengthening of Casitas Dam are expected to continue in west Ventura next week.

Residents along Ventura Avenue and East Main Street in Ventura and in Casitas Springs can expect to intermittently hear sirens and announcements in English and Spanish, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Sirens have been installed at the following locations: Casitas Dam; Highway 33 and Nye Road; Foster Bowl and Santa Ana Road; North Ventura Avenue near Norway Drive; Highway 33 and Stanley Road; Ventura Fire Station at North Ventura Avenue and Ramona Street; West Main Street near the Ortega Adobe; and Santa Clara Avenue near the Ventura County Museum.

The alarms are to provide early warning in case an earthquake causes the dam to collapse while construction crews work to strengthen it. Authorities say such an event is unlikely, but if disaster strikes, the sirens would sound and be followed by instructions to evacuate to higher ground. Work on the dam is scheduled to last through September 2000.