Communications and News During a Disaster

(I have been trying to get around to writing this post for about 3 months now. Sorry )

(Some of my Alternative Communications Equipment in the Common Sense Compound)

One glaring problem that many people learned during our recent bout with Hurricane Irene is that communications and news dissemination isn't easy. A matter of fact, some would argue in this age of a smartphone in every hand it might even be harder to obtain news during a disaster then in the "old days". While I don't think this is necessarily the case, there is definitely some problems with what has become our normal way of communicating and getting info from the world around us.

First the problem. Irene knocked out power to a great many of us, which resulted in people trying to figure out what was happening. With no TV's and computers many people turned to their cell phones, which between the storm damage and the huge numbers of people trying to use the system your cell phone and mobile internet became unreliable at best. Next up, people switched to the old standby of radio. While this worked in theory, people quickly found out that radio isn't what it was 25 years ago. Your local radio programming has now been replaced with nationally syndicated radio programs used by the big companies that have been buying up our local radio stations in past years. This does not make for the quick dissemination of information in many cases. Even local radio news now a days is prerecorded in other areas. All of this combined made for some very unhappy people who were left feeling quite isolated. Then to add insult to injury a couple months later, the Federal Government decided to conduct one of the first Nationwide Tests of the Emergency Broadcast System. This test failed miserably, and it would take an entire blog just to explain the antiquated systems which are used to even begin to help you understand all of the problems with that. Basically what all of these things boil down to, is that:

YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR OWN COMMUNICATIONS PLANS FOR DISASTER AND OTHER EMERGENCIES

Below I am going to outline just a few ideas that may help.

Traditional Radio: While Irene and other incidents have shown us just how much AM/FM radio doesn't work the way it used to. It is still one of the best ways to get information in a disaster. A radio is cheap, it doesn't rely on electric, radio waves are in the air not stuck in wires that can get cut or networks that can be overwhelmed. Every person should have at least one radio that doesn't rely on electricity. Hopefully the Federal Government will get their act together with regard for emergency broadcasts, and hopefully the local government and local radio stations have learned something from Irene and will work to make the system better for next time. Either way, radios are too useful a tool not to have one.

Your Cell Phone: For all of the problems that cellphones have during a disaster they are also still a useful tool and worth having. BUT, use your cell phone wisely and be considerate of others. First and foremost use your cell only for emergencies like checking on a family member or letting a friend know that you are ok. Surfing the web, and updating your Facebook status every 10 seconds doesn't constitute an emergency. Also keep in mind that text messages are less taxing on the wireless network, so when possible send a text. Plus very often text messages will still go through even if the network isn't allowing you on to make a voice call or to check Twitter.

Your Home Phone: Believe it or not land-line doesn't go down very often and does not require electric to operate. But it does for many because all of the phones in their houses are electrically powered. You should have at least one phone in your house that doesn't need to be plugged into electric to work. You know those phones that we had as kids that weren't cordless and didn't have any cool doodads. Just a handset and a dial pad. But the same rule applies as with cell phones, use your land-line considerately. During times of disaster even the land-line networks can become overwhelmed by lots of use.

Other Ideas to Get News: Here are some other ways that you can keep up on what is going on around you.

• Emergency Scanners: Some scanners like the ones you get at radio shack are battery powered. A scanner with the right frequencies help you keep up on what is going on around you by listening to the source, Emergency Services agencies. This info is raw and it takes some time to learn the lingo so that you understand what they are saying but hey....it's information. Basically any organization or agency around you that uses radio, you can hear what they are doing.
• Shortwave radio: Shortwave radios, also available at local electronics stores are another cheap piece of equipment that you can use to get. The advantage with these radios is that they give you AM/FM/Weather and other shortwave or "world" radio. Plus they are fun to play around with even when there is not an emergency.
• Rumor Mill: Hey guys, if you're local don't forget that we live in the Kingston Area. The rumor mill here is in overdrive much of the time. So you can get some info by word of mouth, but it might not always be right...LOL!!

Other Ways to Communicate: Here are some other ideas that you can use to communicate with those around you, when phones and emails don't work.

• Family Radios: If you have people that you want to get in contact with and they are close this is a good way. Heck, if you have a tight knit neighborhood and many people have these little family radios you can set up a neighborhood channel and everyone can talk.
• CB Radio: I know it's not the 70's anymore but CB radio is still alive and well. Unfortunately not many people have CB's anymore. But if you are serious about wanting to communicate CB's afford you some good distance depending on your set up. They are not terribly expensive and they provide for some non-disaster related entertainment. 
• Amateur Radio: If you want to be able to communicate with just about anywhere in the world at anytime, "Ham" Radio is the way to go. Please note that Amateur Radio does require a license to use, but it is easy to obtain with some studying and a quick test which is given locally every couple  of months. Many ham radios are battery powered and even the bigger ones can be run off of a car battery in a pinch.

The most important thing to remember is that you need to have a plan ahead of time. Battery powered radios don't grow on trees and the store might not be open after the Zombies come, so make your plans ahead of time. I actually have a written communications plan which is available to any of my friends and includes many different ways to get in contact with me should phones and email cease to exist. Many of these are radio frequencies and channels and all pre-determined and have assigned names so that during a disaster if all I can get out is a quick text I can text something like "COM 1" to all of my friends and they can refer to my plan and know exactly what radio frequency to contact me on. This allows us to all stay in touch and keep track of each other.

Another very important thing to do if you can is to have an out of state contact. Hopefully during a disaster this out of state contact will be unaffected and can keep track of everyone checking in. So even if you can't get a hold of your friend on the other side of town, both of you can check in with an out state contact and know that each other are ok....in theory anyway.

That is all that is on my mind now and I am happy that I finally got around to writing it down.