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Emergency Communication
During any kind of emergency—natural or otherwise—one of the most important things aperson can do is to stay informed
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. In fact, most emergency preparedness experts say thatbeing informed before and during an emergency is one of the best ways to ensure one’ssafety and the safety of the family.However, during an emergency that is serious enough that people will requirecommunication to stay alive, it is almost certain that any landlines will be down, and veryprobable that power will be out. This means that standard radios and televisions would beout of the question.Cell phones are a great alternative to these more traditional means of communication.Almost everyone has one these days, and they are easy to use and most of the time veryreliable. Unfortunately, however, emergencies are not “most of the time,” and while cellphones might be useful during a disaster, it is equally likely that they will be out of servicebecause of widespread damage.If the cell phone tower is damaged, then it would be pretty difficult to get service on a cellphone dependent on that tower. And in the case of severe storms, earthquakes, or evenfires, these towers are just as susceptible to the elements as any other structure.Cell phones themselves, of course, are not always entirely reliable. Everyone has had a timewhere their phone service just went out and their call got dropped. And most people haveexperienced poor service while they are in a storm. The weather patterns—particularly if there is electricity involved—can have a serious effect on mobile devices.However, in smaller disasters, where most of the telephone grid stays intact, cell phonesare the most convenient way to contact others for help or support. Auto breakdowns, forexample, are considerably less serious when people have a cell phone. If none is available,then people either have to flag down another driver or walk quite some distance to use thehighway phone. Both of these options are dangerous, and overall it would just be better tohave a personal communications device in the car.The last thing to consider about cell phones is that they run out of batteries quickly. Somelast longer than others—everyone has experienced that in some form or another—and cellphones do last quite a bit longer if they aren’t being constantly used. However, withoutsome kind of hand crank charger, it is impossible to make cell phones last longer than just afew hours.Because people have become accustomed to the convenience of cell phones, they will reallyhave to think about other emergency communications alternatives. And they should startimmediately, before some kinds of natural disaster forces them to remain at home and theyhave no way of either gaining information from or sending it to the outside world.One of the best (and only) options for emergency communications is the emergency radio
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.These come in all shapes and sizes, and can be powered by anything from batteries to ahand crank to solar energy. They are specifically designed to be useful in an emergency,and are therefore more difficult to break than typical radios.If people are new to emergency communications, the first thing they should look for is abasic, heavy-dutyAM/FM radio. Although this type will not be able to send transmissions,people will be able to listen for any emergency broadcasts. During a disaster, people shouldkeep their radio on as much as possible so they can know what is happening, where thedamage is occurring, whether or not they should evacuate, and finally, when it is finally safeto leave. People should talk to local police departments to find out which channel will bebroadcasting news during an emergency.Another option for one-way radios is to buya multi-band radio, which will enable its user topick up signals from much greater distances. Emergency preparedness stores like The
 
Ready Store sell a variety of these radios, and they pick up signals from AM/FM stations,shortwave frequencies, some TV channels, NWR (National Weather Radio), and NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). With all of these channels, plusinstructions on how to receive each signal, people should be able to stay informed withease.Many of these radios are also able to be powered in different ways. One of the mostappealing options is solar powered, but people should remember that solar powered alsomeans that the radio must spend time charging in the sun—which usually takes anywherefrom five to ten hours. Even if the sun is up, if the day is hazy, partly cloudy, or even justfoggy, the radio will probably not charge at all.If someone needs emergency communications immediately, they should consider buying aradio with a different power source, or at least one withmultiple options. These options canbe anything from ahand crankto a battery, to a computer USB. Any radio with differentways of charging and powering it is a safer bet than just an AC/DC powered device.These radios are all excellent options for people who need to stay informed during disaster.They do, however, all have one downside, and that is that they are only one-way radios.These products can receive information, which is the most important part, but they cannottransmit anything. This can be crucial in an emergency where a family member is hurt andpeople cannot reach medical care. Two-way radios can save lives by transmittinginformation about where people are, especially in situations where they have been buried bydebris and cannot get out on their own.So for more prolonged emergencies and for those people who live in areas where they maybecome stranded at home thanks to severe storm conditions, flooding,earthquakes, orother emergency situations, having a two-way radio is key to survival
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. These “amateurradios,” or HAM radios, are relatively easy to use. If people need to, theycan take classes,either online or in person, to learn how to use them to their fullest extent
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. These radiosprovide tens of thousands of stations available to any citizens who know how to accessthem,and can communicate hundreds of miles with anyone else attached to a similardevice
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.People must pass a test in order to become a licensed user of these types of radio, but thequestions are simple and straightforward, and are provided online so people can knowexactly what they are going to be asked during the exam
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. If people do not feel comfortable just learning by themselves and then going in to take a test, they can also undergo sometraining to make sure they completely understand their amateur radio. This training cantake place online or in person, and is conducted by the Crisis and Emergency RiskCommunication branch of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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One of the only downside to these radios is that they can only broadcast on publicstations—to be brief, there is no privacy when it comes to radio communication
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. They areexcellent for contacting the authorities, but when it comes to more private communications,like between the family or their neighbors, then people may want to consider having walkietalkies.All of these emergency broadcast devices have pros and cons, but for people to be trulyprepared, they will want to examine each option carefully; they will also benefit more fromhaving more than one of these options, instead of just assuming that a one-way battery-powered radio is going to be all they’ll need for their emergency communications. If peoplelook into communication and begin to prepare now, they will probably be able to avoidmany of the problems and dangers other people run into when they don’t think aboutemergencies in advance. Don’t become a statistic or a casualty—prepare for disasters nowand avoid tragedy.ihttp://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/index.html/. Ready.gov webpage: Be Informediihttp://www.thereadystore.com/blog/125/what-to-look-for-in-an-emergency-radio/. TheReady Store blog: What to look for in an emergency radio
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