Organizations in an Iowa county are working to help spread critical weather warnings.
(MCT) — In order to help spread critical weather warnings, a number of county organizations have partnered together to distribute 100 free weather radios to low income households throughout Story County, Iowa.
“These radios are more important for families living in mobile homes or homes without basements that may need more time to get to a safe sheltering location,” said Melissa Spencer, deputy Story County emergency management coordinator. “Unfortunately, the relative small cost of these radios may be out of reach for these families or individuals due to a very limited income.”
The NOAA weather radios were purchased through a federal Citizen Corps grant acquired by the Story County Coalition for Disaster Recovery, which helps identify and recruit volunteers to prepare for, respond to and assist in disaster recovery.
Spencer said the radios, two of which have already been distributed to the Meadows Apartments building in Nevada, are ready to use right away, thanks to six volunteers from the Central Iowa Retired and Senior Volunteer Program who spent a few hours last week programming and testing all 100 of them.
The remaining 98 radios are being delivered to Mid-Iowa Community Action, who will help identify low income residents who will benefit from having a weather radio.
Story County Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Morgan said he hopes that all the radios will be distributed in the next three to four weeks.
“We want to give them those few extra minutes to get to those safe places,” Morgan said. “Getting those few minutes of alert and then following the instructions can make the difference between life and death.”
Along with a radio, each recipient will receive information on creating severe weather preparedness kits, creating a family plan of where to take shelter when severe weather hits and even a set of batteries to power up their new radio right away.
“If we can get the public prepared, then the first responders can focus the activities they’re specialized in (if severe weather hits),” Morgan said.
Priority will be given to providing radios to people that live in mobile homes, who don’t have a basement and those who don’t have the ability to shelter quickly from severe weather events like high winds and tornadoes.
“We’ve had tornadoes in Story County as late as November, and we’ve had occasions in the wintertime with blizzard-like conditions that we’ve had to close Interstate 35,” Spencer said. “This is definitely a tool that can be used year-round.”
©2014 the Ames Tribune, Iowa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
.http://www.emergencymgmt.com/
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