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A hurricane rips through your community, an earthquake crumbles buildings, or a tornado tears through your town. In the chaos that follows any of these scenarios, the first thing you will probably do is reach for your cell phone — or go to your landline — to start communicating about the damage, begin the recovery effort, and restore water service if it’s been affected.

But what if a disaster cut off all of your normal means of communications? If cell phone signals and phone wires are down and even the roads are blocked, preventing you from reaching people outside your community, what would you do to communicate?

These days, we are so dependent on cell phones and the Internet for communicating, but in an extreme case like this, an old-fashioned technology that is still around — believe it or not — might come in useful.

Ham radios, also known as amateur radios, can serve as a key means of communication during emergencies. Most operators of ham radios do it as a hobby, but many are available to work for the good of their communities.

Perhaps there’s a retiree in your community who has the equipment and experience in operating an amateur radio. You could contact him/her to see if he/she would be willing to step in during an emergency, if necessary. But amateur radio isn’t confined to the older crowd. Younger users have taken to it as well.

Even though technology has long passed ham radio operators by (this was the medium that used the antiquated Morse code), this means of communicating is still alive and well. Operators still go through a licensing process, and many organize themselves into local clubs.

Reaching out after a disaster

Government entities responsible for emergency response at all levels still rely upon these groups of amateur radio operators as certified volunteers who can be called upon as a decentralized resource in times of emergency. Congress has designated specific segments of the radio airwaves to be used by licensed ham operators in states of emergency and war.

Amateur radio has proven crucial in past disasters. When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, ham radio operators were brought in from across the country to quickly circulate important information throughout communities in crisis.

One Red Cross ham radio operator, through a system of cell phone calls and amateur radio contacts in Oregon and Utah, was able to assist in the rescue of 15 stranded people.

Some major organizations you may have heard of also have their own amateur radio stations for emergency situations, such as the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Watch Net, Waterway Net, Skywarn, and the Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network.

This pre-World War I technology may seem outdated in the 21st century, but often the simplest technology is the most effective. To communicate rapidly across the globe, ham radios use either the ionosphere or satellites to bounce shortwave signals through space.

Here are some other places to look for amateur radio operators to serve as an emergency contact in your community:

• Visit the American Radio Relay League website’s state chapter pages at www.arrl.org/sections to find the contact information for your state’s section manager
• Find local amateur radio clubs by state at www.hamdepot.com

All levels of government can rely on the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, a volunteer troop of licensed ham operators ready to lend their skills when disaster strikes. Take the time to reach out to this resource, and you’ll be ready to communicate in any situation.

Additional Resources

Here are a few newspaper articles that show how one area of the country is combining old and new technology in emergency preparedness:

• “Amateur-Radio Operators, Emergency-Management Staff Prove Winning Combination” (http://www.sungazette.net/articles/2010/07/14/arlington/news/nw96u.txt)
• “Ham radio operators to the rescue after Katrina” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9228945/)