Outdoor Warning Sirens
Cable TV Override
Tone-Alert Monitors
Emergency Alert System [EAS]
Citizens can also purchase a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio. Information about this indoor warning system can be found at the bottom of this page.
Outdoor Warning Sirens
Sirens are used to provide an emergency warning to persons out-of-doors; they are not designed to penetrate buildings. In Monroe County, these emergency warnings could be for a tornado, hazardous material spill, or a plant accident at the Enrico Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant in Newport. When you hear a siren outside of the normal monthly testing (last Wednesday of the month at 10:00 a.m.), go inside immediately and tune your radio or TV to an Emergency Alert Station (see list below) for official news and information about the emergency.
Sirens for the Fermi 2 plant are located within a 10-mile radius called the Emergency Planning Zone, or EPZ, of the plant. During the monthly testing, sirens will sount the "Alert" tone, which is a three-minute continuous blast. This tone will be activated for any emergency requiring public warning and notification. Within the Fermi 2 EPZ, there are no longer voice sirens. A single tone siren with no voice system has been implemented, which is consistent with most other nuclear power plant communities throughout the country.
The county maintains and operates a system of high power voice/alert sirens that are located throughout the county.
Cable TV Override
For residents who are subscribers to certain cable companies in Monroe County, a cable "override" capability is used for public warning.
Cable companies give Emergency Management officials the ability to take over or "override" the cable system, which interrupts all programming on channels. At this time, most systems only give audio warnings, whereas the picture goes blank or to "snow" and a voice message is broadcast.
The following cable systems have override capabilities:
Tone Alert Monitors
Ensuring the safety of schools and industry within Monroe County is a goal within the Office of Emergency Management. Most schools (public & private) and industry within the County have opted to purchase a tone-alert monitor to warn them of impending emergency situations.
Tone-Alert monitors can be activated from either the Office of Emergency Management or Central Dispatch. A two-tone encoding signal is transmitted via radio, followed by a voice announcement indicating the type of emergency and what precautions should be taken.
Some examples of Tone-Alert monitor sites:
These institutions, and 42 others, make up a network that enhances the public warning system and ensures that the warning is transmitted to as many persons as possible.
Emergency Alert System [EAS]
The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) is now the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The Federal Communications Commission is currently working on expanding and improving this system to better serve the needs of citizens and emergency workers. Monroe County is part of the Southeast Michigan Operational Area.
The EAS Stations are:
Radio Stations
Television Stations
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WJBK-TV Channel 2 Detroit
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WDIV-TV Channel 4 Detroit
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WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit
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WMYD-TV Channel 20 Detroit
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WKBD-TV Channel 50 Detroit
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WTVS-TV Channel 56 Detroit
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WWJ-TV Channel 62 Detroit
NOAA Weather Radio
A transmitter is located in Lenawee County that covers both the Monroe and Lenawee regions, plus several counties in northern Ohio.
You may take advantage of these broadcasts to get up-to-the-minute weather updates, and storm warnings in real time. By purchasing a weather-alert receiver from an electronics store. When purchasing a receiver, be sure that it has the capability of SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding - for filtering out unwanted broadcasts), and also the tone-alert feature that will activate when a watch or warning is issued for our area.
To use this service, program your weather radio to frequency 162.450. Residents living in the northern townships of the county who have trouble receiving on this frequency may tune to the main Weather Radio frequency at 162.550.