Clanton officials have handed out about 2,100 severe weather alert radios over the past several days.

The radios are being provided free of charge to every residence and business within city limits after the city received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The radios come with batteries and pre-programmed to alert users severe weather approaches Chilton County.

Fire department and police department officials began handing out the radios last week, and this week residents who received postcards in the mail were able to bring the card by the Clanton Fire Department and exchange it for their radio.

Mal Cooper stopped by Wednesday afternoon.

“When I got this (postcard), I thought it was a great thing,” she said.

Kevin Laws with the National Weather Service agreed.

“It’s fantastic that the city is doing this,” Laws said. “We’ve had a couple of tornadoes the past couple of years, and the thing is, we don’t want people relying on sirens.”

Laws was at the fire department to help with questions residents might have about the operation of the radios, including programming.

An NWS representative will be at the department, located at 100 Sixth St. S., for the rest of the week as officials continue to hand out the radios.

Those who received postcards should bring them by the fire department between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday or Friday.

Fire and police officials have distributed about 600 radios in the community. Those radios were taken to housing arrangements, such as apartments, where water meters are shared because the postcards were mailed to the addresses the city has on file for water bills.

CFD Chief David Driver said trailer parks would be targeted next week for distribution.

“It’s good to know that each house is going to have these radios,” Driver said. “Hopefully, people will heed the warning. They’ve been proven to save lives.

“Everyone that has come in has been appreciative to the city for getting them.”