MISSION POLICE, JOHNSON COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, and HOMELAND SECURITY ENCOURAGES ALL CITIZENS TO PURCHASE A NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO 

    Mission, KS – As the death toll in Indiana and Kentucky continues to rise, a familiar complaint is beginning to surface, “We couldn’t hear the sirens.”  The fact is that sirens are only meant to warn persons out of doors.  Their design and expense makes them less than ideal for indoor warning.  Sadly, there has been very little attention paid to a simple, effective and inexpensive alternative to “hearing the sirens.”

    Mission PD, Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security, in partnership with Project Community Alert encourages all citizens to purchase a NOAA All Hazards Radio, formerly known as a NOAA Weather Radio.  Severe weather, including tornados, can happen at any time of the year depending on weather conditions.

    The NOAA All Hazards Radio is a powerful safety tool, with dozens of alerts and a broadcast capability that ensures direct access to information on a wide range of emergencies.  Whether it’s an approaching tornado, local roads overrun by flash floods, a derailed train posing a hazardous material threat to the north end of Mission, or an AMBER alert to be on the lookout for an abducted child, the radio sounds an immediate alarm.  And whether the emergency is national or specific to the Mission area, you can count on the NOAA All Hazards Radio to signal the danger and recommend safety steps.

    The radio can be programmed to sound alerts to your preferences. You can learn what is happening nationally, or receive information specific to certain events or geographic areas. For example, if your area is prone to tornadoes or flash floods, you can program the radio to Tornado Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings in your county and neighboring areas.

    A light on the radio indicates the urgency of the event.  The watch light underscores the need to remain vigilant because of the possibility that the event will turn into a warning situation.  The warning light means that an event is occurring and immediate, possibly life-saving action is required.  Connecting the radio to other attention-getting devices, such as strobe lights, sirens, bed-shakers and peripheral alerting mechanisms, ensures that people with particular challenges can also benefit from the safeguards.  The radio also has the advantage of battery back-up should power fail.

    The radio can alert individuals and families 24 hours a day, seven days a week concerning the impending impact of all hazards that impact the Kansas City region.  Hazards that include natural hazards (Tornado, Severe Winter Weather or Flooding) and man made issues (Terrorism, General Civil Emergencies, & Amber Alerts).

    Project Community Alert, which Johnson County is a part of, has partnered with local Price Chopper stores, the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee (part of the Mid America Regional Council) and Midland Radio to provide NOAA All Hazard Radios for the low price of $29.95.  These radios are available at all participating local Price Choppers.  We encourage all citizens to purchase one for their homes, verify their employer has one and to make sure their friends and families have them regardless of where they live in the United States.

    Individual, family and business disaster and emergency preparedness is a civic responsibility that pays dividends in lives saved, injuries avoided and property protected.  As the events recently in Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky point out, early warning is a huge part of protecting lives that we all need to take responsibility for and make sure we have a plan to appropriately handle all hazards that impact the Kansas City region.

    Citizens should call Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security at 913.782.3038 or Major Mark Sullivan at Mission Police Department at 913.676.8303 if they have any questions regarding these radios.