Weather radios can save lives
Saturday, April 21, 2007
GALESBURG - Nancy Mathis grew up in eastern Oklahoma riding out tornadoes in her grandmother's storm cellar.Now the author of a book about a deadly tornado, Mathis said everyone should have something her grandmother could have used - an NOAA weather radio.
"NOAA weather radios should be as common in your house as a smoke detector," said the author of "Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado."
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's radio works much like a police scanner, said Mathis, picking up weather alerts and tornado warnings and watches. The best radio, she said, includes Specific Area Message Encoding, which can be set for a particular area, such as Knox County.
"You can actually program the weather radio to wake you up if there is a tornado warning or tornado watch in your area," she said.
This is important, she said. Many deaths caused by tornadoes occur in the middle of the night because people are not aware of the danger.
Mathis said the tornadoes that hit Florida earlier this spring killed 50 people, but, "more than 20 were killed between the hours of 2 a.m. and 3 a.m."
NOAA radios cost between $30 and $200, depending on the amount of information and options you want. They are available at electronic stores such as Radio Shack and BestBuy.
