javapride
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http://www.signews.org/562
National weather alert for deaf in effect
Ken Putkovich
SIGNews Contributor
On June 12, the Omaha, Neb. and Council Bluffs, Iowa, area experienced a typical Midwestern bout of severe weather. The National Weather Service (NWS) first issued a Tornado Watch for a number of counties in the area, followed by a rapid succession of Tornado Warnings, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings.
Shortly after a workshop entitled “Disaster Preparedness Tips for Hard of Hearing People” ended that day, attendees at the 19th Annual Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) International Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Omaha got a first-hand demonstration of new emergency warning technology. A RCA AlertGuard television set in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio (NWR) exhibit began to wail and sounded a siren as the NWS Weather Forecast Office in Omaha issued each successive warning. Attendees and exhibitors crowded around the TV and watched as text messages from the National Weather Service scrolled across the screen, identifying the locations where severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods were expected. Everyone was quite impressed by the timely demonstration of this powerful, new, life-saving emergency warning technology.
Having a radio may seem irrelevant to a deaf or hard of hearing person, but there are features of NOAA Weather Radio that make it the only public emergency warning system useful to members of this community. In addition to providing continuous emergency weather warning information, the 122 local NWS Weather Forecast Offices in the U.S. can issue any of over 30 non-weather (all-hazard) warnings from any of over 900 NWR stations in the United States — ranging from a child abduction (Amber Alert) emergency to a biological hazard warning. Embedded in each message is a digital code that identifies the event, the immediacy of the threat, the location of the threat and how long it will last. NWR receivers can be programmed to alarm for only those events of interest to the deaf or hard of hearing person and to trigger special external warning devices, including high-intensity strobe lights, or bed shakers designed specifically for deaf people. These NWR Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) receivers have small LCD displays and LED lights that identify the event (Tornado, Flash Flood, Toxic Chemical Release, etc.), identify the immediacy of the threat (Warning, Watch, Advisory), and give the time the warning is in effect. Thus, even people who are deaf can be awakened in the middle of the night for a life-threatening event in their area and can take action to lessen the threat to their well-being.
NOAA Weather Radio has been in operation for many years. Its capabilities improved to the point where it now may be able to reach the goal of becoming as common as smoke detectors in all buildings and homes. AlertGuard television sets are now for sale at all Target stores in the United States.
About time this is happening!
http://www.signews.org/562
National weather alert for deaf in effect
Ken Putkovich
SIGNews Contributor
On June 12, the Omaha, Neb. and Council Bluffs, Iowa, area experienced a typical Midwestern bout of severe weather. The National Weather Service (NWS) first issued a Tornado Watch for a number of counties in the area, followed by a rapid succession of Tornado Warnings, Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Flash Flood Warnings.
Shortly after a workshop entitled “Disaster Preparedness Tips for Hard of Hearing People” ended that day, attendees at the 19th Annual Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) International Convention at the Hilton Hotel in Omaha got a first-hand demonstration of new emergency warning technology. A RCA AlertGuard television set in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio (NWR) exhibit began to wail and sounded a siren as the NWS Weather Forecast Office in Omaha issued each successive warning. Attendees and exhibitors crowded around the TV and watched as text messages from the National Weather Service scrolled across the screen, identifying the locations where severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods were expected. Everyone was quite impressed by the timely demonstration of this powerful, new, life-saving emergency warning technology.
Having a radio may seem irrelevant to a deaf or hard of hearing person, but there are features of NOAA Weather Radio that make it the only public emergency warning system useful to members of this community. In addition to providing continuous emergency weather warning information, the 122 local NWS Weather Forecast Offices in the U.S. can issue any of over 30 non-weather (all-hazard) warnings from any of over 900 NWR stations in the United States — ranging from a child abduction (Amber Alert) emergency to a biological hazard warning. Embedded in each message is a digital code that identifies the event, the immediacy of the threat, the location of the threat and how long it will last. NWR receivers can be programmed to alarm for only those events of interest to the deaf or hard of hearing person and to trigger special external warning devices, including high-intensity strobe lights, or bed shakers designed specifically for deaf people. These NWR Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) receivers have small LCD displays and LED lights that identify the event (Tornado, Flash Flood, Toxic Chemical Release, etc.), identify the immediacy of the threat (Warning, Watch, Advisory), and give the time the warning is in effect. Thus, even people who are deaf can be awakened in the middle of the night for a life-threatening event in their area and can take action to lessen the threat to their well-being.
NOAA Weather Radio has been in operation for many years. Its capabilities improved to the point where it now may be able to reach the goal of becoming as common as smoke detectors in all buildings and homes. AlertGuard television sets are now for sale at all Target stores in the United States.
About time this is happening!
