I agree that TV news is pretty useless, most of the time. Right now I am listening to my favorite local radio station for my daily, useful, news fix.

I have noticed that some of the local stations, based in LA, actually do provide worthwhile info during our various earthquakes and wildfires. Most of the time their news coverage is pretty useless, unless you really care about the antics of celebs.

Case in point: Late at night, my wife came in, after hearing sirens. We both caught a faint whiff of smoke. My wife checked the immediate vicinity outside, while I turned to the boob tube. A Los Angeles station was broadcasting live feed of the fire from a helicopter, and providing reasonably decent info which helped us as we prepared for a possible evac.

It is a good idea to determine which specific media sources can be useful in a disaster situation before you need to use them. My favorite local radio station doesn't have the resources to respond immediately to every situation, although their coverage will be more thorough and thoughtful as the situation evolves.