How do you find out about tornadoes if your religion doesn't allow TVs or smartphones?

If a tornado or flash flood is imminent, most Americans find out about it through a smartphone or a television.

But as the National Weather Service was reminded in the wake of the deadly Dec. 10, 2021 Kentucky tornado, one segment of the population uses neither of those things: the Amish, who shun technology.

As meteorologists studied damage in the days that followed that storm, which killed 80 people and damaged hundreds of homes, they encountered an Amish community in Ohio County, Kentucky, and asked: How do you get severe weather information?

"They basically said they listen for the weather sirens from town," said Derrick Snyder, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. But as loud as storm sirens are, not everyone is close enough to hear.

A solution may be on the way, as the agency teams with a national radio maker as part of the Weather Awareness for a Rural Nation initiative. Snyder and other meteorologists are part of a project developing weather radios that will be both effective in relaying information immediately, but also acceptable for the Amish lifestyle.

It will be a stripped-down, hand-crank model with absolutely no modern amenities.

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Midland Radio is working on prototypes, hoping it can deploy at least some of the radios in Amish communities by the time severe weather season arrives in the spring.

There is plenty of need. The Amish population in Kentucky is estimated at 14,215. In neighboring Indiana, it's more than 60,000, while another 7,500 live in Illinois. All three states endure severe weather on a regular basis.

In an age where almost every product is built to be state of the art, the Amish radio project is an exercise in making things simpler, said Bruce Jones, a meteorologist and spokesman for Midland Radio.

Jones said they've started with Midland's ER40 model and have started figuring out what they can and can't include on a model that would be acceptable to the Amish. That has meant outreach to Amish bishops. And like in every religion, not all Amish sects are alike.

"Certain bishops are more conservative and others are a little more flexible or lenient," Jones said. "Our goal is to give them a weather radio that fits with their traditions ... but also gives them access to the warnings issued by the National Weather Service so we can cut down on flash flood and tornado fatalities."

Four members of an Amish community in Bath County, Kentucky, were swept away by a flash flood in April 2020. In the massive December 2021 tornado, the storm destroyed a mobile home in Graves County, Kentucky, killing four out of seven people in one Amish family.

"You have to remember that if you think back to the 1925 Tri-State Tornado ... these (Amish) populations are living the same way everyone did back then," Jones said. "You had no confirmation of a tornado until you saw it with your own eyes."

So far, Jones said, the solution is to modify the chips inside the Midland ER40 to remove the AM and FM radio bands, leaving only the band that picks up National Weather Service forecast and alert broadcasts. It will have a rechargeable battery operated by a hand crank. There is also a small solar panel atop the radio that the Amish bishops have approved.

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Things are being removed, as well. There no longer will be an electrical plug for wall charging. Not surprisingly, bishops also insisted that the USB, mini-USB and headphone jacks be removed.

This feedback, and more, came when officials from Midland and the weather service attended a gathering of Amish bishops in Pennsylvania.

Most of the bishops seemed OK with the flashlight on the front of the radio, Jones said, so it likely will stay.

Developers are even taking color into consideration. The ER40 is bright red, Jones said − a little too flashy for some of the bishops. So they're going to use a muted gray color for the exterior.

"When you're dealing with a group this size, with differences between what they'll allow, it has been interesting," Jones said. "From point of view of a product designer, one of the requirements is, who's going to use the device and how we can make one they're going to be happy with?"

After all, the goal is to save lives. Jones said this isn't a profit venture for Midland. The production will be limited, so there won't be much of a revenue stream.

There's an online fundraiser in progress at givebutter.com that set an initial goal of generating $750 for the project. It's already topped $2,000, Snyder said.

"We're all greatly respectful of the way the Amish have chosen to live their lives," Jones said. "No one wants to use a loved one to a tornado or flash flood or whatever the risk may be. The folks in the National Weather Service have a heartfelt passion for serving the community."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: After Kentucky tornado, NWS eyes a weather radio acceptable for Amish