In Canada, as well as most other parts of the world, a great percentage of disaster situations are caused by weather. Although most of us like to joke about the accuracy of the forecasters, Environment Canada has made weather forecasting a reliable science.
Weatheradio is a network of radio transmitters stretching from the Gulf of Mexico into the Canadian Arctic, coast to coast. In Canada, the almost 200 transmitters are within range of about 90% of the population, making it the most accessible source of weather information.
A weatheradio receiver monitors this network 24 hours a day. Modern receivers use a technology known as S.A.M.E. which stands for specific area message encoding. This feature allows users to program their receivers to announce warnings only for their immediate area, eliminating false alarms. Also, many receivers can be programmed to exclude certain warnings such as flood warnings for those that live in areas of higher ground.
Receivers are available for a starting price of about $35.00 from most home electronics and outdoors retailers. Given recent events and the high number of weather related disasters, The Canadian Preppers Network highly recommends that every person purchase and use a weatheradio receiver.
There are a few features you should look for when considering buying a weatheradio receiver…
• Make sure it includes the S.A.M.E. feature.
• Check that it uses batteries for operation during a power failure as well as household power.
• Look for the All Hazards feature which will inform you of other emergencies such as Amber Alerts, Fire Hazards, Public Emergencies, and more.
The Canadian Preppers Network believes that a weatheradio receiver is so important to the security of you and your family, that it is now the number 1 recommended preparedness item for your preparation gear list.