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In the United States alone, hundreds
of people die every year from effects of severe
thunderstorms, whether it be lightning, hail,
strong winds or tornadoes. Most of these deaths
occur in the Central and southern parts of the
United States, but unfortunately 1/4 of them
occur in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states,
probably because of lack of education from the
effects of these violent storms. Tornadoes and
any type of convective thunderstorm can occur
year-round, but they are more common during the
spring and early summer. These are all objectives
to why people in our part of the country think
severe weather is not a big problem. The fact is,
it's bigger than you think.
The objective of the $40 million dollar program
established in 1992 by the federal government was
to alert people to get to safety to protect lives
and save property. This program is NOAA weather
radio, a unique, one-of-a-kind device that will
alert you to impending severe weather. The
National Weather Service, a branch of the federal
government monitors weather situations
24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, year-round to
provide accurate forecast and fast warning
information that is transmitted through these
small $40.00 or less radios.
The main excuse for why people don't have NOAA
weather radios in our area is, we never get any
bad weather like tornadoes. Yeah, true for the
most part, because in the Central states,
tornadoes are almost a way of life, and these
NOAA weather radios are common devices out there.
This kind of attitude expressed in our area could
lead to an increase in death each year from not
only weather, but other types of hazardous
emergencies. The fact is, the Delaware valley are
recieves, on average, 1 to 2 tornadoes every
year, and numerous more severe thunderstorms with
large hail and damaging wind speeds. Even though
these numbers are slim compared to other parts of
the country, that does not mean your home should
be left out of an extra shield of protection. In
fact, these radios should be much of a part as a
preparedness as smoke detectors. In fact, a
recent study by the National Weather Service
showed that NOAA weather radios are more likely
to save lives than a smoke detector in a one year
period.
Even if no severe weather hits, NOAA weather
radios are unique because through they carry
messages from the FCC's emergency alert system
which transmits valuable information on other
natural hazards such as nuclear accidents,
tsunamis and oil/gas spills, making it the single
source for the most comprehensive emergency
information available to the public.
Let's go back in time to late May 1998 when a
large area of thunderstorms developed over
Pennsylvania. After night, residents of Lyons,
Berks county rested back to a night of television
and relaxation after dinner. What they didn't
know that a super-cell thunderstorm was headed
their way and a few minutes later, the calmness
was interrupted by loud thunder and a strong
tornado which destroyed part of this small
community and injured 12 people. Residents said
they had no warning on TV or radio. When asked
after the destruction whether they had a NOAA
weather radio, most of them said no, but a few
said yes. Actually, 2 minutes before touchdown,
the residents were warned of the impending
twister and had time to seek shelter in a
basement, sparing a few lives, but ultimately not
enough for the 12 people who were seriously
injured.
NOAA weather radio doesn't only provide tornado
information, but second-by-second warning
information for any type of weather or natural
hazard for a specific location, whether it be a
section of a county or even narrowed down to town
and time of strike. Think of it as an extra
insurance policy, hopefully not be used, but just
there in case. In fact, a few days after the
tornado hit, word had spread of this radio and
they flew off the shelves at nearby Radio shacks.
That is good, because everyone who bought that
radio now has an upper-hand to emergency
situations from people who don't. Worried about
getting information from far away locations, no
problem. With new technology, the radio will only
alert you if the storm effects your immediate
county.
So in closing, why not spend an extra $20, $30 or
$40, guarenteed it will be there just in case.
And hey, just press one button and you get the
official National Weather service forecast. But,
in emergency situations, it just might save your
lives, just like hundreds others who credit being
alive to the purchase of a NOAA weather radio.
To find out
more about this service, click here.
Bill Deger,
PHLweather
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