When we lived off grid, we had a handheld scanner with wx/weather. It was our only source for weather reports. Didn’t use the police/fire scanner because we were in rural Missouri where nothing really happens. The channels were still programmed for Florida police/fire and there was a lot of chatter back in FL.
It’s a Radio Shack - Realistic Pro-92 but it wouldn’t pick up newer trunked systems.
Before I would go with some hand cranked Chinajunk emergency radio, I’d look for a scanner or multi use receiver. Either is apt to get wx.
National Weather Service, AM/FM for Emergency Alert System, scanner for police/fire info. Ham and shortwave would be nice. Portable won’t get as good of reception as stationary with external antenna but portable will run off of batteries.
My handheld scanner takes 9 AA batteries for a total of 12vdc. It can be powered off a car battery. With the right rechargeable batteries, it will charge the batteries from 120 AC or 12vdc vehicle. Even the 9 AA batteries last a long time. A fully charged car battery would likely last months. It came with a short rubbery antenna but I bought a telescopic antenna for it. Antenna had instructions on how much to extend it for various frequency ranges.
You can buy small, self contained solar panel setups that put out 5vdc and 12 vdc for charging gadgets. The 5vdc is in the form of USB ports for charging phones etc.
We have a scanner. The police around here, and many places, have gone encrypted, so we don't get many channels that lock.