Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Tuesday, February 23, 2016
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) is partnering with all 92 counties in the state to distribute more than 4,800 all-hazard weather radios to Hoosiers. The radios will be distributed on the local level by each county’s emergency management agency.
The distribution focuses on citizens who are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of severe weather, which includes the economically disadvantaged, mobile and prefabricated home residents and others who may not be able to receive weather alerts by traditional means. Federal grants funded the purchase of the radios.
"All-hazard weather radios are valuable tools for protecting Hoosiers throughout every season of the year," said John Erickson, IDHS Director of Public Information. "Early warning can help citizens make informed decisions and take appropriate action to increase their safety."
Mobile homes and similar structures offer minimal protection against severe weather and other life-threatening disasters. In the event of severe weather, IDHS advises mobile home residents to seek shelter in a building with a strong foundation.
All-hazard weather radios disseminate more than 60 emergency alerts such as hazardous weather and other local area warnings, including up-to-date weather information broadcast directly from the National Weather Service. In the event of a power outage, backup batteries power the radio.
Most all-hazard radios require a Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) code number in order to limit the receipt of emergency messages to a specific geographic area. The list of Indiana counties and their corresponding SAME codes are available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/coverage/ccov.php?State=IN.
For more information on severe weather safety and other safety topics, visit GetPrepared.in.gov.
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