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www.weather.gov
Looking to the future, lifesaving NOAA Weather/All Hazards Radio may become as common in homes, worksites and other commonly used settings as smoke detectors and seat belts in our cars. It is an indispensable resource that is accessible in over 97 percent of our country.
Even when you're asleep, NOAA Weather/All Hazards Radio can alert you to weather and non-weather civil emergencies that may affect you in and near your home. The radio reflects a broadcast capability that comprises a nationwide network of more than 960 stations in 50 states and U.S. territories. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has adopted this capability as way of reaching Americans directly in the event of a local or national emergency. Emergency messages may include the following:
- Natural hazards, such as tornados, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes;
- Technological events, such as chemical releases, oil spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, maritime accidents and train derailments;
- AMBER alerts, 9-1-1 outages; and
- Terrorist attacks
This fall every U.S. public school received a NOAA Weather/All Hazards Radio. This new capability means that school personnel can now be alerted directly, quickly and accurately to approaching danger, including hazardous weather, terrorism, abducted children, and derailed trains carrying toxic materials, among a range of other acute concerns. Entitled, “America Is Safer When Our Schools Are Safer,” the Departments of Commerce/National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Homeland Security and Education are supporting this important initiative.
Increasingly, the broadcast capability is being integrated into other household devices, including TVs, clock radios and hand-held radios. Devices can be purchased at retail stores that sell electronic merchandise, including home, electronic, office, boat and marine equipment stores, electronics departments within department stores, drug stores and online at radio manufacturer and mail order catalogs. When purchasing a receiver, look for the Public Alert certification logo at www.ce.org/publicalert.
- Special features to look for include:
- Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) that allows you to customize your receiver for your choice of alerts in your area; and
- Alert features for the hearing and visually impaired that can be connected to other devices, such as strobe lights, pagers, bed- shakers, personal computers and text printers.
NOAA is the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Information comes from NOAA's National Weather Service, the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the U.S. and its territories.
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