CLEVELAND -- A 5 On Your Side investigation has found that a tornado could strike your home and you would never hear a single siren go off. Tornado sirens that could save lives are nowhere near scores of neighborhoods in northeast Ohio.

According to local emergency plans, storm data and siren information, there are wide areas all over northeast Ohio that go uncovered by the sound of a tornado siren. In fact, Newschannel5 discovered that more than 1 million people live in what could be called "siren dead zones."

Lorain County has the most tornadoes. That county has been hit 27 times since 1950. But Lorain County has the fewest sirens, 12 total. There is not a single siren in either Elyria or Lorian, two of the county's largest cities. As for the rest of northeast Ohio, the city of Cleveland doesn't have a single tornado siren and neither does Akron.

But even with plenty of tornado sirens, people might still be at risk if the sirens don't work. Solon has 12 tornado sirens. That's more than any other community in northeast Ohio and Newschannel5 crews were recording when every siren in Ohio was tested at exactly 9:50 a.m. one day last month.

The siren wail in Solon was shrill and loud in the immediate outdoor area. But less than a mile away, the sound barely registered on a decibel meter placed outside a house. Inside the house, people didn't hear the siren at all.

Weather experts say people should not rely on the outdoor warning system for tornado alerts. They say weather radios, TV reports and Internet or cellular phone alerts are much quicker and more likely to reach residents wherever they are.

To find out where tornado sirens are located in your area, click here.