After reading an article in the Brainerd Dispatch published on March 15, 2017, regarding the lack of public interest to have an emergency warning siren installed to cover the First Assessment Unorganized Territory to warn residents of dangerous situations expected, I was disappointed to read that some officials would rather spend the $20,000 required for a siren installation on road repairs. Obviously, the memory of the July 12, 2015, mega wind storm in this area is short-lived.
My questions is, is providing a heads up to a dangerous situation and/or life threatening situation worth saving a life for $20,000 or patch some pot holes? The warning siren program was designed to alert residents that are outside to tune to a public resource or preferably to a NOAA National Weather Service Weather Radio to ascertain why the sirens are being activated and to take appropriate action to the threat to protect life and/or property.
I would recommend residents equip themselves with an alarm activated National Weather Service Weather Radio which broadcasts 24/7/365 weather emergency information so that one can be awaken in the sleeping hours of the night to be able to have time to take action to ensure safety. Our area is covered by an antenna KXJ-64 located near Leader, Minn., on a frequency of 162.550 megahertz and under control of the National Weather Service Office in Duluth, Minn.
The NOAA NWS Weather Radio includes the EBS (Emergency Broadcast System) which includes Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm. Flash Flood, Flood, Winter Storm, High Wind, Frost/Freeze warnings as well as public safety alerts such as Amber Alerts, 911 Outages and National Emergencies. Be prepared!
Donald A. Perry
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Brainerd
National Weather Service, Retired
