Which Radio Station Should You Tune to in a UK Emergency? BBC Local Radio FM Frequencies

Since the government launched its Be Ready campaign on 22 October 2026, retailers including Maplin and Robert Dyas have reported a jump in radio sales. But a radio is only useful if you know where to tune it. Be Ready’s own power cut advice warns: “You would lose internet connection and possibly mobile signal during a power cut.” Here’s which station to choose, the frequency to write down for your area, and the radios that keep working without mains power.

What the government’s Be Ready advice says

The Be Ready checklist includes an “FM radio (battery / wind up)”, with this note: “For updates during outages, write down frequencies of any national or local radio stations you use for news.” Its other pages add:

• Power cuts: “There might be updates communicated by radio during a power cut.” Write the frequencies down “on paper”, and “use a battery or wind-up radio to search for stations that are still broadcasting”.
• Phone and broadband outages: “your mobile phone, landline and broadband connection could all be down”, and “Updates may be given on the radio during an outage.”
• Major incidents: people affected “may be asked to ‘Go in, Stay in and Tune in'” to local or national radio.

Be Ready also says its own website “will not be updated with live information during an emergency”. During an incident, the updates come from broadcasters, emergency services and Emergency Alerts on your phone.

Why BBC local radio?

The government’s emergency preparedness guidance for councils and emergency services says that “the BBC’s local radio service is recognised as an emergency broadcaster for the UK”, and that “radio, in particular, is the most resilient form of mass communication”. The same guidance says the news media “remain the primary means of communication with the public”.

There are formal arrangements behind this too:

• The BBC must broadcast emergency announcements. Under the BBC Framework Agreement with the government, a minister can ask the BBC to broadcast an announcement in an emergency, and the BBC “must comply with the request”.
• Backup power has been assessed. In December 2025, the government told Parliament that the BBC’s plan for an extended national power outage includes “a detailed assessment of back up power generation capacity and capabilities” at key BBC sites “and transmitter sites operated by third-party providers”. The plan is designed “to maintain broadcasts of key BBC radio channels nationally”.
• Commercial stations can be directed too. Under the Communications Act 2003, the government can require Ofcom to direct licensed broadcasters “to include an announcement” in their services.

So your favourite commercial station may carry official messages as well. But BBC local radio is the station emergency planners rely on, so it’s the one to write down first.

FM, not long wave or medium wave

Older advice often said to tune to Radio 4 on long wave. That no longer works:

• Radio 4 long wave has gone. The BBC confirmed that “Radio 4’s Long Wave (LW) service will close on the 27th June 2026”, and it did.
• Medium wave is closing too. The BBC is switching off Radio 5 Live’s medium wave transmitters area by area, under its plan to close the AM network by the end of 2027. 5 Live will stay on DAB.
• Most BBC local stations have already left AM. FM is now the main analogue band for local news.

What about DAB?

DAB is fine if you already have it. Digital Radio UK says DAB coverage is 98% for BBC national stations and 91% for local DAB. A radio with both DAB and FM gives you two ways to find a working station. Be Ready specifically asks for FM, though, and many wind-up radios are FM-only.

Don’t assume DAB will drain your batteries much faster. Battery life depends on the model: Panasonic, for example, lists about 40 hours on DAB and 30 hours on FM for its RF-D10 with alkaline batteries. Check the spec of the radio you buy.

Will radio still work in a power cut?

A battery or wind-up radio doesn’t need mains power, so it keeps working at home. The transmitters are the other half of the picture. Arqiva, which runs much of the UK’s broadcast network, has said it keeps “more than 300 fixed and portable generators” as backup if a site loses power. The BBC has also assessed backup power at its key sites and transmitter sites.

Transmitters can still fail. In August 2021, a fire at the Bilsdale transmitter in North Yorkshire knocked out TV and radio for an area of up to 670,000 homes, and Ofcom later said “better site-specific planning could have pre-empted” some of the delays. That’s why Be Ready says to search for stations that are still broadcasting, and why it’s worth writing down a second frequency.

BBC local radio FM frequencies

These are the FM frequencies for each BBC station, taken from published station listings. The first column shows the frequency for the main area each station serves. Coverage varies by transmitter, so tune in at home now to check which frequency is clearest where you live.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

North East and Cumbria

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

North West

Midlands

East of England

London and the South East

South West and the Channel Islands

How to write down your frequencies

1. Find your station in the tables above.
2. Test it at home now. Tune your battery or wind-up radio to each listed frequency and note which is clearest. Save it as a preset if your radio has them, but write it down too.
3. Add a backup. Note a second station, such as a neighbouring BBC local station or your national station.
4. Write it on paper with other emergency numbers. Be Ready’s “Make a plan” section lists “frequencies of radio stations you use for news updates” among the things to keep on paper, along with the power cut number: 105 in England, Scotland and Wales.
5. Keep the note with the radio, plus spare batteries if it uses them.

Emergency Alerts on your phone

The government’s Emergency Alerts system sends warnings to mobile phones “in a life threatening emergency”. It works on “all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK”, and your phone doesn’t need mobile data or wifi. You won’t get alerts if your phone is “turned off” or connected to a 2G or 3G network.

Alerts are a warning, not a news service. GOV.UK says: “Emergency Alerts will not replace local news, radio, television or social media.” Keep your phone charged and switched on, and use the radio for updates.

The radios worth buying

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• GOV.UK Be Ready — Be ready for emergencies, Power cuts, Phone and broadband outages and Be informed about hazards
• GOV.UK — Be Ready launch press release (22 October 2026) and Be Ready home page
• The National — Radio sales rise after the Be Ready launch
• Cabinet Office — Emergency Preparedness, Chapter 7: Communicating with the public (PDF)
• DCMS — BBC Charter and Framework Agreement, with 2022 and 2025 updates
• UK Parliament — Written question 100801: BBC power outage planning
• legislation.gov.uk — Communications Act 2003, section 336
• RadioToday — BBC sets June date for Radio 4 long wave closedown and BBC Radio 5 Live to close more AM transmitters
• WorldDAB — Radio 4 broadcasts on long wave end on 27 June 2026
• Digital Radio UK — Can I get DAB digital radio anywhere in the UK?
• Arqiva — Keeping TV and radio services on air; Ofcom — Bilsdale transmitter fire review
• GOV.UK — Emergency Alerts and How alerts work
• Wikipedia — List of BBC radio stations (frequencies, cross-checked with each station’s page)
• Philips — TAR1609 portable radio with torch; Sangean — MMR-88 DAB+; Sony — ICF-P26 specifications; Panasonic — RF-D10 specifications

Related reading: UK storm names for 2026/27, our storm-proofing guide, how to store emergency drinking water and what should be in a home first aid kit.