 An emergency can happen anywhere and at any time. The City of Santa Rosa wants you, your family, and neighbors to be prepared. That's why the city is distributing free NOAA weather radios while supplies last to add another way to alert residents during emergencies. NOAA weather radios are also available for purchase online and in stores. A NOAA weather radio is a low-cost home-alerting tool that is remotely activated by the National Weather Service to broadcast life-saving warnings issued by first responders. When the power is out or cell phones don't work, a NOAA weather radio can still get emergency messages to those who need the information. Radios distributed by the city are pre-programmed to frequency 162.475, the channel on which the National Weather Service will broadcast its alerts and warnings for the City of Santa Rosa. Your NOAA weather radio will come with backup batteries in case the power fails. Once you receive your radio, insert the batteries and plug it into the wall. Then, turn the on-off switch to on and leave it there. The radio will silently monitor for alerts. A fresh pair of batteries will need to be installed annually. When installing the required batteries, do not press the weather snooze button as this will erase the Santa Rosa-specific programming. Take note that every Wednesday morning between 11am and noon, the National Weather Service will send out its required weekly test. You may notice the advisory light comes on and required weekly test scrolls across the screen. That means your radio is operating properly. Should the City send out an alert in the event of an emergency, the radio will automatically emit a loud 8-second alert tone that sounds like this. After the alert tone is finished, a voice from the National Weather Service will come over the radio, broadcasting any pertinent information. Being prepared is the best way to navigate any emergency. When you have every alert at your disposal, you can get a head start on your general preparedness for when the next emergency arises. For more emergency preparedness information, visit srcity.org slash ready sr.