WALK Radio’s Newly Installed Broadcast Facility Used During Weekend Blizzard

Dec. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- On December 27, WALK 97.5 FM used its newly installed broadcast facility in Suffolk County’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC) to provide the latest news on the blizzard that hit Long Island.

The new state-of-the-art satellite audio relay system, located at the EOC command center’s broadcast facility, allows WALK to broadcast important public information in an emergency, should its Patchogue facility become compromised. At a time of emergency, even if WALK’s Patchogue facility was able to broadcast, the new system could also be used to facilitate the relay of information from emergency officials by having WALK’s news staff broadcast directly from the EOC.

WALK’s ability to broadcast from the EOC is the result of a joint partnership the radio station established with Suffolk County’s EOC upon the completion of the state-of-the-art broadcast facility. The new facility will further enhance Suffolk County’s ability to rapidly relay critical public safety information to Long Islanders through WALK’s airwaves.

One important item that everyone must have in their emergency preparedness kit is an FM radio. The reason is that FM radios are not reliant on electricity like most other potential information sources.

This new facility will provide immediacy and backup to ensure that Long Island residents are kept up-to-date, should WALK's home facilities in Patchogue be affected by a natural disaster, such as snowstorms and hurricanes.

According to the International Hurricane Research Center, Long Island is ranked eighth among the 10 most vulnerable mainland U.S. areas to hurricanes. In 1985, more than 750,000 Long Islanders were without power — some for days — when Hurricane Gloria hit. The winter nor’easters in 1992 and 1995 dumped several feet of snow on Long Island, stranding people in their homes. The 1995 nor’easter left 150,000 people without power. When Hurricane Floyd hit in 1999, approximately 20,000 Long Islanders were without power.

As a Local Primary Emergency Alert System provider, WALK 97.5 is already one of the Island’s critical local sources for information in any type of disaster. However, due to WALK’s South Shore location, the radio station could be adversely affected by a major hurricane’s storm surge.

WALK 97.5’s General Manager Jim Condron said, “As Long Island’s dominant radio station, we have a responsibility to our nearly 800,000 listeners who live on Long Island to keep them informed when they need us most. WALK 97.5 has a longstanding history as not only ‘the best variety of music’ but as your ‘information station,’ too, and with the assistance of the county, we will be able to remain that information source during the times Long Island needs us most.”

“In times of an emergency, it is critically important to be able to convey timely information to the public,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. “The new WALK radio system located at our Emergency Operation Center will help enhance our efforts to protect the public by providing up-to-the-minute information directly from the source.”

For more information, visit www.walkradio.com.

CAPTION:
Pictured (left to right): John Searing, Deputy Commissioner, Suffolk County Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services; Donna Vaughan, News Director, WALK Radio; Jim Condron, Vice President/Marketing Manager, WALK Radio; and Marcus Xenakis, Chief Engineer, WALK Radio.