Boone County Emergency Management
Emergency Warning Systems
Boone County Emergency Management uses several different notification components to notify citizens of Boone County of emergency or disaster situations. The components consist of the following:
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NOAA Weather Radio
The fastest, most accurate and reliable means of receiving severe weather information is through a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Weather Radio with a tone alert feature and battery backup. Weather radios may be purchased at local electronics stores.
NOAA Weather Radio is operated directly from the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, Ohio which provides coverage for Boone County. The weather radio tone alert is activated when weather watches and warnings are issued. Newer models are capable of warning you only if severe weather is expected to reach Boone County. This feature is called Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.). Ask your local electronics retailer for help programming your weather radio before you leave the store.
FIPS Codes
(needed to program your S.A.M.E. NOAA Weather Radio)
OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS
When Sirens Sound: Take Cover - Tune In - Take Action
The Outdoor Warning Sirens are intended to alert persons involved in outdoor activities that an emergency situation exists. The Outdoor Warning Sirens may be activated for any emergency situation requiring public warning. Persons hearing the outdoor warning sirens should seek shelter, obtain additional information from commercial radio, television and NOAA Weather Radio and then take appropriate action for their safety.
During severe weather the Outdoor Warning Sirens are activated for Tornado Warnings. The sirens are also activated for Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued when Boone County is under a Tornado Watch (because of the potential for a tornado to develop with little or no warning).
To receive severe weather warnings when indoors we recommend a NOAA Weather Radio with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), tone alert and battery backup.
Remember: When Sirens Sound: Take Cover - Tune In - Take Action.
TELEPHONE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
Boone County Emergency Management maintains a computer based telephone notification system called the "Communicator". The "Communicator" emergency notification system consists of the "Communicator" notification software, GIS mapping software and multi-platform communication interfaces. The "Communicator" integrates published telephone database information and available GIS mapping information to allow for pinpoint notification capability. In the event of a localized emergency, officials can select the affected area on a map of Boone County and automatically generate a call list. The "Communicator" then begins to telephone each number on the call list. The "Communicator" allows for the automatic dissemination of live or pre-recorded emergency messages.
Please note that the Communicator/GeoNotify System can call only published telephone numbers. Those with unpublished numbers will not be called unless your address and unpublished number has been provided to us. Should you wish to have your unpublished telephone number added to the system please submit this form.
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
Boone County also participates in the Emergency Alert System (EAS). EAS consists of a digital encoder/decoder that allows the National Weather Service (NWS) or other federal, state or local government agency to create emergency messages for immediate dissemination to commercial radio and television stations and cable TV providers. The EAS message is generated by a digital encoder and then decoded by a similar unit at each participating broadcast station. When an EAS message is generated by the NWS or a governmental agency, that information is transmitted to a primary dissemination station which in turn relays the information to all other participating commercial and cable broadcasting stations. The primary EAS station in the Greater Cincinnati Area is WLW-AM Radio.EAS provides for quick, efficient and widespread notification capability for the NWS and local governmental agencies.
