Statement issued Tuesday:

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) partnered with local emergency management agencies to announce that more than 8,300 all hazards alert radios are being distributed to at-risk Hoosiers throughout the state.

“All hazard alert radios are one of the best early warning tools available,” said IDHS Executive Director Joe Wainscott. “Where funds permit, we hope to continue partnering with local emergency management agencies to provide additional radios to Hoosiers who might not otherwise be able to afford them.”

In 2009, IDHS distributed about 1,000 radios through the 10 Indiana districts and 92 county emergency management agencies.

IDHS embarked on this most recent purchase of more than 8,300 about two years ago. This radio project required a sustained effort to secure grant funding, develop the project and secure the radios.

The radios have been divided among the counties and delivered to each county emergency management agency for distribution. In most counties, emergency management agencies are coordinating distribution with local community service organizations or more localized government entities to target, among other areas, residents of the thousands of manufactured (mobile) homes in Indiana.

Manufactured homes and similar structures offer only minimal protection against severe weather and other life-threatening natural and man-made disasters, so frequently the best course of action is evacuation to a stronger, safer building such as a community center or other public facility. These radios will help provide at-risk, manufactured home occupants the advanced warning they need.

Federal grant sources funded the purchase and distribution of these radios.

IDHS encourages everyone who is able to purchase an all hazards alert radio. They can be purchased for about $30 or $40 online and at many retail outlets.

All-hazards alert radios disseminate more than 60 emergency alerts such as hazardous weather and other local area warnings, including up to date weather information broadcast directly from the National Weather Service. In the event of a power outage or an evacuation, backup battery power allows the radios to remain operational.

Most all hazard radios require a Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) code number in order to limit the receipt of emergency messages to a specific geographic area. The list of Indiana counties and their corresponding codes is below.

For more information about safety and preparedness, go to www.in.gov/dhs/getprepared.

COUNTY SAME #

Adams 018001

Allen 018003

Bartholomew 018005

Benton 018007

Blackford 018009

Boone 018011

Brown 018013

Carroll 018015

Cass 018017

Clark 018019

Clay 018021

Clinton 018023

Crawford 018025

Daviess 018027

DeKalb 018033

Dearborn 018029

Decatur 018031

Delaware 018035

Dubois 018037

Elkhart 018039

Fayette 018041

Floyd 018043

Fountain 018045

Franklin 018047

Fulton 018049

Gibson 018051

Grant 018053

Greene 018055

Hamilton 018057

Hancock 018059

Harrison 018061

Hendricks 018063

Henry 018065

Howard 018067

Huntington 018069

Jackson 018071

Jasper 018073

Jay 018075

Jefferson 018077

Jennings 018079

Johnson 018081

Knox 018083

Kosciusko 018085

La Porte 018091

LaGrange 018087

Lake 018089

Lawrence 018093

Madison 018095

Marion 018097

Marshall 018099

Martin 018101

Miami 018103

Monroe 018105

Montgomery 018107

Morgan 018109

Newton 018111

Noble 018113

Ohio 018115

Orange 018117

Owen 018119

Parke 018121

Perry 018123

Pike 018125

Porter 018127

Posey 018129

Pulaski 018131

Putnam 018133

Randolph 018135

Ripley 018137

Rush 018139

Scott 018143

Shelby 018145

Spencer 018147

St. Joseph 018141

Starke 018149

Steuben 018151

Sullivan 018153

Switzerland 018155

Tippecanoe 018157

Tipton 018159

Union 018161

Vanderburgh 018163

Vermillion 018165

Vigo 018167

Wabash 018169

Warren 018171

Warrick 018173

Washington 018175

Wayne 018177

Wells 018179

White 018181

Whitley 018183

For this list online, go to www.weather.gov/ind under “weather safety” on the left, click on “weather radio” and there is information how to program your radio.