A critical tool every family and business should have in the home, kits and office are battery (or hand crank) radios so you can receive news and updates during an emergency.
But another tool to consider is a weather radio.
NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Working with the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System , NWR is an "All Hazards" radio network,
making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency
information. In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency
Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and
post-event information for all types of hazards – including natural
(e.g. earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (e.g. chemical releases
or oil spills), and public safety (e.g. AMBER alerts or 911 telephone
outages).
NOAA Weather Radios are found online and in most big box stores and can cost about $25 – $100.
Some features to consider are alarm tone, battery backup, and “Specific Area Message Encoding” (SAME) programming.
Options for those with Special Needs
NOAA Weather Radio offers nonverbal information embedded in its broadcasts to provide timely, critical warnings of life threatening events to the hearing impaired. Some receivers are equipped with special output connectors that activate alerting devices such as vibrators, bed shakers, pillow vibrators, strobe lights and other alerting systems. Visit www.weather.gov/nwr/special_needs for more information.
Programming Your NOAA Weather Radio
If you purchase a Weather Radio receiver with SAME, you should program it with coding for your area. By doing so, you can limit the alerts which will trigger your weather radio to only those affecting your warning area.
Follow the manufacturer’s directions to program your receiver using the six-digit SAME code(s) for the warning areas of interest to you.
For more about NOAA Weather Radios visit www.weather.gov/nwr/
Also download a free portion of USFRA's Family Preparedness ebook at www.usfra.org/fedhealth