14,000 Weatheradio Receivers Distributed To Schools!

When a weather alert is issued, every second counts. To better protect students across Canada, a wide-reaching project was developed to provide 14,000 Canadian schools and Scout and Guide camps with Weatheradio Canada (WRC) receivers.

This project enables teachers and those responsible for student well-being to stay updated at all times regarding the weather conditions by listening to Environment Canada’s latest broadcasts and alerts. The project encourages principals at the schools to adopt new procedures, or revise existing ones, to involve checking their Weatheradios when faced with threatening weather.

Funded by the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SAR NIF), this major distribution project was carried out by the Dissemination Systems Unit of the Meteorological Service of Canada.

Radio broadcasting remains a universal way to reach the public. It is also one of the fastest and most reliable means to receive local weather forecasts and information on threatening conditions at any time: more than 90% of Canadians live in areas that receive a Weatheradio signal.

The WRC is a network of radio stations that broadcast weather and environmental reports 24/7 on seven VHF frequencies on the 162 MHz band, using Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME). This means that users receive information only for the geographic area in which they are located, or through which they are travelling. In addition, these receivers can emit a special alarm when severe weather warnings are being broadcast, a feature that is particularly useful at night.

In total, some 14,000 receivers were sent to as many schools across Canada. Weatheradio receivers are available to the public from many retailers throughout the country.  All Canadians are encouraged to get their own Weatheradio and look for the product identifier on the box.

Established in 1988 by the federal government, SAR NIF is run by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat in partnership with other federal, provincial and territorial organizations and with volunteer search and rescue groups.