One Thing Wednesday: Get a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio

DEM Blogger

September 2, 2015

The Do 1 Thing site won the Awareness to Action category of FEMA’s 2014 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. It’s a 12-month program of small steps that you can take to increase your personal and household preparedness. Throughout 2015, DEM will feature Do 1 Thing items during our weekly blog post series of One Thing Wednesdays. Check back here every week for a new preparedness activity or tip!

Knowing what to do in an emergency – where to go, what actions to take, when to activate your household emergency plan – relies on having correct, timely information. In a disaster, how will you get that information and make sure everyone in your family has it? Throughout September, we’ll be looking at various issues in disaster information and communications.

Our office provides a lot of preparedness advice for a lot of different people. Our number one recommendation, however, never changes: get a NOAA all-hazards weather radio.

If you do only one thing from this year’s whole campaign, make it this one. We’re not kidding. Anyone who’s lived in the Bluegrass for any length of time knows how quickly our weather can turn ugly – and how often that happens at night. A NOAA weather radio can turn itself on when the National Weather Service issues an emergency alert, warning you of impending severe weather at any time of the day or night. It also can warn you of other emergencies, such as chemical spills, in time to evacuate or take other protective measures.

A NOAA weather radio is the disaster equivalent of a smoke detector, and every home and business should have one. They’re available at most stores that sell household electronics for as little as $20. Don’t forget the batteries for your radio’s backup power – and contact us if you need help setting up your new radio to receive local alerts.