Emergency radio for a power outage
When the internet and mobile networks go down, a battery radio is how you find out what is happening and what the authorities are asking. What we say here comes from official sources, listed on the sources page.
Why
On April 28, people in Spain with a battery radio quickly learned that the blackout covered the whole Iberian Peninsula and what the authorities were saying; people without one spent hours among rumors. And 911 is for real emergencies: if everyone calls to ask questions, lines get jammed for those who need them.
Which one to buy
A battery radio works just as well as a hand-crank one. Choose by what you want to spend and whether you also want it to charge your phone.
Portable battery radio
AM and FM, for the national and local stations.
Our pick: XHDATA D220 · 2 AA batteries
Hand-crank radio with flashlight and USB
No batteries needed, and it can top up a phone.
Our pick: FosPower D8, hand crank, solar, NOAA weather band and 37,000 mWh battery
Spare alkaline batteries
The size your flashlights and radio take. Check the cover before buying.
Our pick: Amazon Basics, 12 AA and 12 AAA: enough for everything in the packs
Links go to amazon.com and are affiliate links: if you buy through them we get a small commission and it costs you nothing extra.
Once you have it
- Put in new batteries and keep spares next to it.
- Find the frequency of NOAA Weather Radio for your area, and of a local news station. Write them on a note stuck to the radio.
- Show everyone at home where it is and how to switch it on.
This does not replace instructions from the authorities or 911: if they say something different, do what they say.