As Kane County residents grieve for families in Nepal whose lives were devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and in the wake of recent tornado touchdowns in nearby Fairdale and Rochelle, now is exactly the right time to learn how to prepare if a disaster were to happen here.

Thursday is “America PrepareAthon: A Day of Action,” and there will be more than a little bit of PrepareAthon action here in Kane County.

WBBM-TV is hosting a NOAA Weather Radio Day on April 30 at the Walgreens at 1221 North Lake St., Aurora. The PreparAthon event was moved to that store location to accommodate bigger crowds, organizers said Monday.

WBBM will broadcast from the store 4:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., do network cut-ins until 9 a.m., do the noon weather from the store 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and do more weathercasts from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., said Bruce Jones, meteorologist and spokesperson for Midland Radio Corporation.

“This is a full schedule of tremendous support for this event,” Jones said. “We are very excited about this opportunity, and look forward to helping Chicago shine on the day of the FEMA PrepareAthon.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be encouraging public safety events like this all over the United States, and “this one could be one of the largest events in the country,” Jones said.

WBBM’s job is to encourage viewers to build a kit, have a plan, and use National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio as the foundation of a multiple, layered approach to receiving weather bulletins. All week, they’ll be inviting viewers to bring their weather radios (any brand) to the store for programming, and to purchase a fresh set of batteries for tornado season.

Walgreens will be offering  Midland weather radios at a reduced price, Jones said.