Unless you have a news station on 24/7, there are going to be times when you are “out of the loop”. Have you ever wondered how you might know if things really started hitting the fan? If you’re in a meeting, how would you know if there was a terrorist attack not far from home? If you’re out of earshot of a tornado siren, how would you know if there was a danger of one while inside and away from a window?
Here are multiple ways to stay in the know, and like GI Joe says, “knowing is half the battle!”
Weather Alerts
Local news outlets are often a great source for local weather alerts. Many have a smart phone app or will text weather alerts to your phone. Check your local station to see if they do. Weather.com Some also have the ability to send daily forecasts and alerts.
A weather radio is the best way to be alerted to weather emergencies. Here is a review of the two I own. I have also read that weather radios can alert in national emergencies as well.
On Line
If you’re a cubicle Jockey and tethered to a PC, this might be an option for you. I’m not going to list MSM news sites such as FOX and CNN. They sometimes have information worth reading, but I figure if you like them, you’re already reading. I’m also not going to list local sites, but they can be a great way to keep informed of local emergencies.
Here are some of the sites I use to stay informed. I probably use the Drudge Report more than any other site. I can quickly scan the headlines for important articles and if there is an important news story, it is often linked in the top left, above the picture. The picture is also an important news article or an emergency.
Some other sites I use to keep informed, but aren’t necessarily good for being alerted in an emergency are The Blaze, Before Its News, The Daily Sheeple and Alternative News.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social media can be a good way to keep informed and find out about breaking news and emergencies. Of course, you’re also subject to hearing a lot of things you don’t care that much about. Wait, that last part might just be me. (LOL)
FEMA
FEMA also has the ability to send you text alerts for the following types of emergencies.
- Presidential Alerts; issued by the President or a designee;
- Imminent Threat Alerts; include severe man-made or natural disasters where a looming threat to life or property exists;
- AMBER Alerts; help law enforcement search for abducted children.
Call Trees
A call tree is basically a tiered list; everyone has designated people they will call. Below is an example. The person at the top of the tree decides an emergency alert needs to go out. They call their three people. Those three, in turn, call their three people and on and on until everyone on the list has been called.
Due to advancements in technology, call trees aren’t used often anymore. There are also ways to automate your call tree, One Call Now is one such service.
Alert USA and Threat Journal
From the Alert USA Website:
“AlertsUSA continually monitors the national and international threat environment using a variety of information and intelligence sources. These range from a variety of government departments and agencies (foreign and domestic), private sector assets and a number of additional HUMINT and OSINT source points.”
For $99 per year you can have breaking alerts sent to you via email, text message, pager or satellite phone. They also send out a free email newsletter called Threat Journal and posts updated to their social media outlet.
Do you have any other ways to keep informed and be alerted to emergencies?
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Thanks Chris for all the great info and sites.
my pleasure.
We use Nixel. You simply sign up online (http://www.nixle.com/) through your local jurisdiction and get email or text messages from the local government, state police, NOAA office, amber alerts, etc. It is customizable and instant.
Try it out in your community; it may not be there yet, but now you know what to ask your local government to do for you.
We are setting up a ‘reverse 911′ system–used all over the country. We had one of the major employers slow us down because the system (I forget its proper name) cannot handle an employer with hundreds of phones. We have been using it for CERT for some time.
You might want to get involved with CERT as part of your prepping–you help yourself, your family, you neighbors and friends, and your community. And it helps train you in some of the basic prepper capabilitites. I am now certified in CPR.
Nixel sounds interesting. I agree on CERT training, I think it is a good idea for everyone. You can use the banner on the bottom right to find training near you.
Don’t count on the weather-alert radios to warn you. I’ve made the mistake of purchasing two. I began to wonder why the first one never alerted me, so I went in to the Radio Shack where I bought it. The nice guys there told me the broadcast antenna had been down for several months and no one knew when it would be back in operation. The second one I bought a year later (after the broadcast tower was repaired). It warned me of tornadoes in Kansas and mississippi for a couple of months, then it too went silent. I took it back to the dealer and they said it was probably just defective. So, I’ve signed up for text and robo-call alerts from my county government and that system seems to be more dependable.
That’s very interesting. I know with one of our you have to program the zip codes you want to be alerted for. We made the mistake of adding to many at first and it was going off way to often.
I’m glad that the text alerts at least work for you.
Hey Chris, I found the last 3 articles to be very interesting. I wonder if you think that something is coming very soon, and this is your way of alerting people without causing a panic. I know everyone on here thinks something is coming down the road, but the last 2 articles deal with communications. it could be a coincidence. I still liked the articles. they were filled with a lot of good information. Thanks for your time and effort.
Glad you liked them. I don’t have anything specific in mind that I think might happen. But I do have an uneasiness that I can’t quite put my finger on what is causing it.
I have an uneasy feeling too, I think we will find out something very soon.
Being an amateur radio (ham radio) operator, I’ve been involved in all kinds of emergency nets that occur during storms and bad weather. I used to live in Southeast, MN, now Wisconsin, and there were very active and accurate severe weather nets during all the spring and summer storms. Anything relying on Cell Phone service can be iffy during full scale emergencies as those systems are prone to crashing due to excessive use. Having an Amateur Radio license gives people access to frequencies throughout differents spots on the radio spectrum. We have equipment and skills that are easily aquireable to establish point to point communications that require no middle persons’ or industries’ infrustructure. Study for and take the test ($15-$18 approx.) for technician level certification (there are 3 levels of license) for 10 years and then one could have an effective yet modest station for anywhere between $200-$500. That is a small price to pay for such big dividends of being informed in an emergency situation. One could say… why don’t I get just get a scanner… well for the same cost you can scan a lot of those same frequencies and also transmit on the ones you are licensed for and at more power that CB’ers or FRS/GMRS radios.
I would eventually like to get HAM certified. I think HAM is one of the hardest forms of communication to shut down.
It definitely is difficult to shut down. Plus, a lot of ham radio operators get regular experiences and training passing accurate traffic and message handling. The are a whole bunch digital modes now within ham radio where an operator can send text messages and emails and you don’t need the Internet or a cell phone tower. I personally do a lot portable operating so I am always experimenting with antennas that one person can set up and use battery power, charge with solar and so on. Cell phone definitely hit ham radio very hard years back, however time and time again during disasters, ham radio got through when cell service didn’t.
During the summer of 2004, when the phones with the built-in radios were first introduced, my husband and I decided that those gadgets were so versitile, handy and reliable that they made the land line redundant, so we cancelled it. BIG mistake! Post hurricanes Charlie, Ivan, Francis, and Jeanne (You guessed it – Florida!), the radiowaves and cell frequencies were so jammed with emergency responders’ communications and general mayhem that these nifty radio cell phones became silent plastic paper weights.
The land line was reinstated, and although the technology has made leaps and bounds in progress and system redundancy is more upgraded (more towers = more service?), I do not trust even the latest technology to be failure-proof. While cell phones are convenient, and generally trustworthy in normal circumstances, my family decided that the monthly fee for the land line is a small insurance policy for the run-of-the-mill emergencies like hurricanes.
My bigger concern is getting communication to my family of my status when I am working 2+ hours from home.
The new push to talk apps are different than the ones Nextel used to have. Those ran off of cell towers, but I believe the apps now run off of the 3g-4g internet. I don’t know enough about 3g-4g to know if the apps would work if the cell coverage was down.
I do think there should multiple ways to communicate are a good idea. As for being two hours away, if you can find a internet connection you could send an email or make a facebook post, send a text or something a little more extreme you could get your HAM license.
Thank you….
More communication information, and news information. I’m finding Fox News moving a little at a time to the left. Not really telling that much, and ignoring more and more stories. Anymore, I get most of my news on the internet, and Glenn Beck program I watch through “Roku”. Love the links you provided! I too am getting that uneasy feeling…something wicked this way comes…sounds like a movie! Pray then pray some more. I continue to pray for wisdom, stamina, to be able to “hear” what the Lord tells me, prepare, help, and love. And not to loose my sense of humor, which has gotten me through SO much in my life. Thank you Chris.
I haven’t watched FOX in years, but I have seen a random article here and there, they seemed a bit liberal to me.
I’m with you in the prayers and in the hope not to lose my sense of humor.