3 Alternative Communication Options for Emergencies and Disasters
For the majority of us, we have people that we want to stay connected to, especially during an emergency or disaster.
We can have all the plans in the world and know exactly how each person should be implementing them, but there are numerous reasons why we’ll want or need to contact someone.
During an emergency or disaster, chances or our cell phones still working are slim. Cell towers can get jammed very quickly. Have you ever been in a busy store during the holiday season and attempted to use your phone? It’s extremely difficult because of the sheer amount of people inside of the building, jamming up the local cell tower(s).
In my neighborhood there was a huge blackout and I attempted to get onto the internet; impossible. It was so bogged down by everyone else that was also trying to get on. I couldn’t make a phone call and in that instance, couldn’t even text.
In many instances, text messaging will still work over anything else, but it’s not guaranteed.
You will want at least one alternative means of communicating with your loved ones.
Here are the top 3 alternative communication options for emergencies and disasters:
Landlines
Many landlines still exist and they can still be a viable option in an emergency or disaster. You don’t necessarily have to have a landline of your own. Do your neighbors have a landline? You can always walk to nearby businesses as most of them still have a landline. Even many pay phones still work as a landline (just be sure to carry around some change, maybe $2 worth). Be sure to keep a physical piece of laminated paper with important phone numbers.
Out Of State Operator
I’m not talking about a literal operator, I’m talking about a friend or family member that lives out of your state that can accept phone calls and relay messages. Basically how it works is: someone calls the “out of state operator”, gives them a message. Someone else calls the “out of state operator” in order to receive any messages and/or give a message. This way, it’s one person taking and relaying messages. It’s one point of contact. This is a great way to receive and relay information.
HAM Radio
HAM radio is almost always used in an emergency or disaster. It is one of the absolute best ways to stay connected with others. Get your license, learn how to use it, teach your household how to use it and anyone else you’ll want to stay connected with. Get a mobile HAM radio like a Baofeng, keep it charged, turn it on when you need to talk to others.
There are several other alternative communication options but these are my top 3 most effective and easiest ways for people to stay connected.
Make your alternative communication options part of your emergency disaster plan and make sure your group/household knows how to get a hold of everyone.
Conquer tomorrow, by preparing today!
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Howdy! My name is Morgan I’ve been prepping for over 10 years and teach others to be prepared for emergencies and disasters. Learn more!
You can also send messages by flashing a mirror or piece of glass or even aluminum foil to reflect sunlight to someone in the distance, even miles away as long as they can see the flashes. Or flash a light at night. Or tap on a wall or even blink, any countable signals. If you don’t have hours to spend to learn Morse Code for this, there’s an easier (but slower) code called Tap Code, which you can learn in a minutes or two, as many soldiers have. To send the letter of a word, first tap (or flash) through the letters A F L Q V, stopping at the one which is before the letter you want to send (or the same as it), then pause, then tap through the alphabet from that point. For example, to send the word “HELP”, you tap twice (A F), pause, tap three times (F G H) and the receiver writes down the H. Then you tap once (A), pause, then tap five times ( A B C D E) and he writes down the E. Then you tap three times (A F L), pause, and tap once (L) and he writes down the L. Finally you tap three times (A F L), pause, and tap five times (L M N O P) and he writes down the P. You can use X for a period and Q for a question mark. Use the letter C instead of K: asc. If you make a mistake and need to start a word over, tap eight times. Sometimes people have even blinked secret messages in Tap Code!
Thanks for your thoughts.
Thanks for the information!