Joplin, MO - City to distribute free NOAA weather radios

[Thunderbolt]

JOPLIN, Mo. — The city of Joplin has begun distributing weather radios as a tool to help keep families informed of approaching storms. Combined with warning sirens that are designed to alert residents outdoors of severe weather, these radios will help alert residents indoors to take shelter.

Joplin Independent:City to distribute free NOAA weather radios

 

[sphipps]

Correct. Picked mine up at the downtown fire station during my lunch hour yesterday. I've never seen so many weather radios in all my life. Must have had 200+ stacked up on a big table.

 

[redneckcellphone]

amazes me how where i live a thunderstorm gets front page news and i have 3 radios that can recieve weather. one being an actual weather radio with same. yet there are people in tornado/hurricane zones that dont even have a single radio

 

[Thunderbolt]

Correct. Picked mine up at the downtown fire station during my lunch hour yesterday. I've never seen so many weather radios in all my life. Must have had 200+ stacked up on a big table.

What model Midland weather radios are they giving away in Joplin?


73s

Ron

 

[timkilbride]

amazes me how where i live a thunderstorm gets front page news and i have 3 radios that can recieve weather. one being an actual weather radio with same. yet there are people in tornado/hurricane zones that dont even have a single radio

I live in a tornado zone. I have two WX radios. One in the house so I can hear alerts and the other hard wired into a UHF ham repeater to hear alerts while mobile. Most people around me seem to think "it won't hit here".

Tim

 

[Ensnared]

Medical Response to Joplin Tornado

I am happy to hear Joplin residents are getting weather radios. What a tragedy. Preparedness for a horrible storm like this is hard to accomplish. Hopefully, people can learn from this to prepare for future storms. Here is a summary of the medical response to that tragedy:

http://doh.sd.gov/Prepare/Hospital/Documents/Joplin.pdf

 

[redneckcellphone]

I live in a tornado zone. I have two WX radios. One in the house so I can hear alerts and the other hard wired into a UHF ham repeater to hear alerts while mobile. Most people around me seem to think "it won't hit here".

Tim

exactly people dont get it until its too late

as i type my grlevel3 is showing 4 flash flood, 14 thunderstorm, and 4 tornado warnings in virginia, north carolina and south carolina

 

[N5TWB]

The NWS Tulsa office has included a summary and chaser video from Joplin in this year's Skywarn training. Part of the presentation was also a comparison of how many tornado warnings involving counties near Joplin were issued by the various NWS offices that cover the area: Tulsa, Wichita, Springfield (MO). The Springfield office far exceeded the number of warnings of the other two offices. This formed a hypothesis about "warning fatigue" being part of the reason for the death/injury toll. Also, when the warnings first began, the tornado was determined to be on a path that would take it north of Joplin but it made a right turn to go into the main part of town. Finally, with an EF-5, there are no guarantees but below ground shelter is the closest thing to it.

Weather radio and warnings are great things that have proven value, if used and heeded. But, sometimes, simple physics will take down the best preparedness plans.

 

[wbswetnam]

My parents live in a rural part of Arkansas and they have a WX radio set to announce alerts for their county. My parents used to live in Joplin from 1982 to 1995. The house they lived in on Pearl Avenue was completely demolished by last year's tornado.

 

[n5ims]

Weather radio and warnings are great things that have proven value, if used and heeded. But, sometimes, simple physics will take down the best preparedness plans.

Joplin's spending a few bucks to make sure that their citizens are notified. This is government in action, doing what it's there for.

Then again, there's idiots like a councilman from Garland, TX that thinks folks don't need the warning devices Storm sirens sit silent in Garland | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth Just proves that is't not always simple physics that takes down a good plan, it just might be a bonehead politician.

"If you don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain, you can’t expect government to take care of you," said council member Rick Williams. "It’s just not a good way to spend money."

Williams expects each siren to cost $1,000 a year to maintain. The sirens are only designed to be heard by people who are outside. In an age of instant information, Williams says residents would be better served checking their cell phone or the television.

"You need to have enough common sense to get inside and see what’s going on," he said. "You don’t need sirens to alert you."

 

[N2JDS]

I was down in Joplin doing USAR work, for several days afterwards. I was amazed to see they had a portable warning siren on a trailer rolling down the street to put up in the mean time. Sure enough, one evening while we were at a college campus putting us up (thanks a ton whichever one it was), we had a tornado warning again. If I was to ever complain about weather radios, that would be some, at least mine, has no option to control the audio on alarms, which for the normal people is good. For me, I was raised on being awaken by page outs since 16 YO, so it takes very little for me to be woke up. But mine has an audio output, and I used an old stereo speaker with volume control, and plugged into that port. Be safe everyone.

 

[mikepdx]

A smart use of preparedness funds.

 

[trace1]

This is a good thing for the citizens of Joplin, MO. I am the Public Information Officer for the Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association in Anniston, AL and on Saturday April 7, 2012 we will be giving away, for FREE, a limited number of the First Alert brand Model WX-150 Public Alert Radio with S.A.M.E. technology and will come preprogrammed for Calhoun County. The location we will be giving away these radios will be at the Mamre Baptist Church located in the northern part of the county and was quite literally ground zero of where the tornadoes hit on April 27, 2011.

ATTENTION RESIDENTS OF CALHOUN COUNTY ALABAMA: Get your FREE Weather Radio! - Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association

 

[Phreakin318]

i wish they would do something like that in our area, the noaa weather has alot of places around here but never hear of any programs to get a free weather radio.i actually called around and they told me they never heard of such programs and that i should go buy one from radio shack. well some people are on very limited income if any at all and $30 bucks+ could pay a months water bill. so chose to pay water bill or get a weather radio? if anyone knows how to maybe get a program started like this in our community please let me know thanks.