All Hazards Radio

One of the keys to surviving a developing crisis, such as an approaching hurricane, tornado, or severe winter storm is finding out about it ahead of time so you can take steps to avoid getting caught up in the situation. To keep track of the weather you can use a NOAA Weather Radio. But there are emergencies that have nothing to do with the weather, and for those you want to use an All Hazards Radio.


An example of this type of radio is the Reecom R1650 (www.reecominc.com/) that sells for roughly $60 online. This radio is designed as a desktop unit but is battery powered (4 AA), so you can take it with you and monitor the situation during evacuation. It delivers weather alerts, as well as alerts about chemical spills, terrorist attacks, earthquake, landslide, nuclear accident, wildfire, volcano, flooding, child abduction, dam break, food contamination and more. If there's an emergency, you'll know about it.

Another excellent unit is the Oregon Scientific WR601 (www2.oregonscientific.com/) that sells for about $50, is very compact and weighs only a pound, and delivers U.S. Emergency All Hazards, and Emergency Alert System bulletins, warnings and forecasts.

And, of course, there are other radios available. Use Google and type in All Hazards Radio to search for  sources. The important thing is to become equipped to receive timely information about emergency situations that are coming your way.


In the absence of one of these All Hazard Radios, use the local TV and radio stations as a source of information, and then respond appropriately.


We'll discuss "appropriate response" to various crisis situations in upcoming posts.