So the event, whatever it may be, has just taken place. Here we are in the dark ages again! Say goodbye to the luxury of calling your friends just to say what's up, or texting a coded message to your friend where you end it with YOLO, or LoL TTYL.
So what do you do? I guess you could just quit caring about that good friend who is several hundreds of miles away. Okay, I know, that is not happening! Especially if that person that is a few states away is a family member, especially your child. So what do we do? How do we let them know we are okay, or better yet find out that they are okay?
First and foremost make a plan. If you learn anything from this blog learn this:
Most events that will be life altering will come without warning. It is your duty to prepare yourself and your family to deal with these things!
So with that in mind let me talk about how we can (1) set up a plan (2) get into contact when phones and internet are not available and (3) what to do when you do not have a plan.
When an event happens it will be crucial to be ready. Here are some steps that my family is taking to prepare ourselves and I would recommend it for you.
1. Have a safe location that you can meet up with loved ones in the event something would go wrong. Make this location an isolated location that your family members know well. In the event of a national tragedy there could be a great deal of chaos, your first objective should be to get together and make an immediate plan from there on how to deal with the situation.
2. Set up an out of state contact by knowing a person's address, phone number, and email address. This is beneficial for when the power grid is started up again. You will be able to contact this person to find out the status of his/her area. We should all know that you should only trust a quarter of what the media tells you so get a good source to give you reliable information.
3. Try to upgrade your phones to have 3G or 4G coverage. In the event that the phone lines and power grids would be down, this type of service might still give you the opportunity to communicate with others via email or social media.
4. Purchase solar powered phone chargers. This will allow you to keep your phone charged when the power grid is off line. We do not want to waste our power from generators or other power sources on charging phones.
5. Purchase a hand crank radio which will allow you to preserve battery's for other uses and will let you stay up to date on possible situations in your area or the area you are concerned with.
6. Utilize social media! Twitter, Facebook, My blog ;-), any one of those things will give you real time updates that will keep you informed of need to know information pertaining to the areas your loved one is located at. Subscribe to Fema on Twitter. Also look to subscribe to your local Chamber of Commerce's, or local sheriff departments if available. Most importantly subscribe to your other family members.
The next plan to have is how to contact a loved one that is far away from you. This one is a little tougher because with communications completely down what can you do?
The first thing to do is utilize modern technology 3G and 4G services might still be available, continue to utilize social media!
Your next option is to establish a travel plan and talk with this person about this. An example of a plan would be to set a time limit on communications such as, If I do not hear from you within a week I will begin to travel in your direction. I will come to you please do not come to me as we do not want to unknowingly cross paths and miss each other.
*We will discuss travel precautions in a later post*
Then there is use of the HAM radio. If you plan on using this form of communication you better start going on that NOW! Now I am not an expert here so take this information with a grain of salt, but I did speak with a close friend who is licensed to have a HAM radio just never actually got one, plus I read some materials.
To operate a HAM radio you have to be licensed by the FCC. In order to get this license you have to pass a test (obvious). From what I have read some people are licensed within a matter of a week. So great you are licensed for usage, now you need to get a set up. You could use a handheld HAM radio which would not take that long to get but if you want a home based one wow! Those are the things you see when you are driving by someone's house and it looks like they are broadcasting a radio station!
Now while the actual license is free the equipment is not. From what I have seen online you can spend anywhere from $200 up to $6000 for a HAM radio set up.
Your greatest chance here is to find someone with a HAM radio and establish a relationship with them so that you can go to them when the time comes.
Here is a link to the ARRL Website, by going here you can learn more about obtaining a HAM radio license.
Outside of those things, contacting a distant loved one will be tough when there is not a power grid. The most important thing again is to be prepared and have a plan set up with them that they are aware of!
Finally we will address what to do if you do not have a plan.
This one is easy, WHY ARE YOU HERE? GET SMART ESTABLISH A PLAN!!
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