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You have probably learned that FEMA recommends keeping a NOAA Weather Radio with fresh batteries in your home. These batteries should be changed along with your smoke detector batteries twice a year, when you reset your clock. It has always been an important device, and has long been recommended by FEMA. A NOAA Weather Radio can give you life- and property-saving alerts. It can help you if your community is faced with the possibility of a hurricane, too.

Many people do not have this life-saving equipment. They choose to rely on local television for storm information, including radar. Other media can be useful supplements, but cannot serve as a replacement for the battery-operated NOAA Weather Radio. This device will give you ongoing detailed information when there are power outages. More importantly, though, you receive your warning faster. When the National Weather Service issues a warning, it goes out by weather radio at the same time it goes to other broadcast stations. The other media then forward this information to the public, but not instantly.

Now we have an even greater reason to have and maintain a NOAA Weather Radio. The Department of Homeland Security has designated the NOAA Weather Radio as the official source of emergency information. Unfortunately, this has not been widely publicized. Whenever there is an emergency of any kind affecting your community, instructions to citizens will be issued on the National Weather Service frequencies.

If there should be a toxic chemical spill from an overturned truck, and emergency management officials want to evacuate you, they will notify you by NOAA Weather Radio. Maybe, though, in the same scenario, they would want you to "shelter in place," remaining in your home with outside ventilation turned off until the mass of toxic air no longer affects your neighborhood. Another scenario is a Gas main break. This could result in road closures, and immediate evacuations.

Of course, since September 11, 2001, we have also been faced with the possibility of terrorist attacks. These could come in almost any form. Your FIRST warning will come by NOAA Weather Radio. Because of this, it would now be advisable to make sure every workplace has a battery-powered Weather Radio, as well.

Some people have trouble understanding how to program their radio for their area. Almost any County Emergency Management official can assist you. Often, police officers and firefighters are trained to help you with this essential task. Some Counties host events where radios can be purchased at a discount, and professionally programmed. If you cannot afford a weather radio, Counties often have programs to provide radios to the needy.