Email sums up radio’s power in an emergency.

Bonneville’s WTOP-FM, Washington (103.5) shares an email from a Germantown, MD woman named Holly.  While her note had nice things to say about the station’s winter weather coverage, it’s emblematic of radio’s power during a crisis.

She writes, “My house temperature was down to 41 degrees and we still don’t have any phone service.  If it wasn’t for WTOP on our battery powered radio, I think I would have lost my mind.  We kept the radio on even through out the night just so we did not feel alone.  The tips you provided and the interviews with the power company kept us going.  We followed the stories people were telling and what they were experiencing.  I can not thank you enough for what you have given us in our darkest hours.  We were cold, scared and hungry and your station gave us hope.”

There were 250,000 homes without power at the height of the storm, with thousands still without electricity.  WTOP-FM went to full storm coverage but VP Jim Farley says, “There’s not even a ratings payoff for this.  If people have no power, their people meters cannot report data to Arbitron.  But we made a lot of friends and fans and it will pay off down the road.”

An Arbitron spokeswoman says PPM battery life has been improved over earlier generations and notes even after the unit goes dead, once electricity is restored any listening data previously captured will be recorded when the unit is docked.

WTOP wasn’t alone in its dedication.  Salem Radio Network Washington bureau chief Ken Lormand and his staff remained snowed in at their studios for 72-hours while 27-inches of snow fell outside.