Pres Gordon B. Hinckley

“… the time has come to get our houses in order. . . . There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed“

Ensign, November 1998

September 11, 2001

Northeast US Power Outage 2003

Hurricane Katrina 2005

Hawaii Earthquake 2006

What is Emergency Communications?

Emergency Communications is when a critical communications system failure puts the public at risk.

Radio Communications

Emergency Warning System

Scanners & Special RadiosCell PhoneCBFRSGMRSAmateur Radio

Emergency Warning System

Emergency Alert System (EAS) Radios NOAA Weather Radios

Both Systems • Warnings cover local emergencies or

major disasters– Weather alerts from NWS– Child Abduction (Amber Alert)– Release of Radiological Material– Civil Unrest– Earthquakes

• S.A.M.E. (Specific Area Message Encoding) recommended feature

NOAA Weather Radio

Network managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Retransmits emergency alerts from from the National Weather Service and EAS

Local weather forecast 24 hrs/day Uses 7 frequencies in the 162MHz

band for broadcasting to public Tested every Wednesday around

12 noon

Scanners & Misc Communications

Scanners (listening only)• Fire & EMS Dispatch (Trunking)

• Police

• Amateur Radio Misc Communications

Satellite Broadcast Radios (XM / Sirius)

Shortwave Radios TV Audio Radios Direct TV (Satellite)

IMPORTANT: Keep plenty of batteries on hand (spares in refrigerator)

2-way Communications

Satellite Radios Handheld (Globalstar, Iridium) Lugables (briefcase w/antenna)

Alphanumeric pagers Laptops / PDA’s

Wifi (802.11 a, b, g) Internet Connection VOIP Email

Cell Phone

Shared infrastructure with Telephone (landlines) When telephones are out, cell phones usually are too

Short range (Cell tower must be relatively close) Battery life limited Call volume overload very common in emergencies Cell phone inexpensive $ “Air Time” usage can get expensive

CB

Citizens Band Radios Been around for years Radio Equipment: not expensive $$ 5 watts legal limit

Range: 4-5 mile range (normally) 40 Channels

Channel 9 – for Emergencies only FCC license not required Most conversations not fit for family

consumption!

FRS

Family Radio Service Radio Equipment: Inexpensive $ Millions in use! Very low power – ½ watt

range (1-2 miles unobstructed) 14 channels Channel 1 – emergency channel No FCC license required

GMRS

General Mobile Radio Service Readily available Radio equipment: Not very expensive $$ Power: 5 watts maximum

Range: 5-25 miles Channels

7 shared FRS channels plus… 8 GMRS channels

FCC License required Covers the whole extended family $80 for 5 years

Amateur Radio (‘Hams’)

FCC License and call sign required to transmit on Amateur Radio Bands (no cost)

Written Examination ($14) required for license Technician General (NO Morse Code requirements) Amateur Extra

Lots of Amateur Radio Frequencies Power: up to 2,000 watts on some bands Range: worldwide on some bands Wide range of cost for equipment, hand held

radio can be relatively inexpensive $$$

Emergency CommunicationsAmateur Radio in Action

Hurricane Katrina – September 2005 Hurricane Isabel - September 2003 Northeast blackout - August 2003 Shuttle Columbia recovery effort - February 2003 Wildfires in Colorado - June 2002 World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks-September 2001 Hurricane Floyd - September 1999 Tornadoes in Florida - February 1998 Western U.S. floods - January 1997 Hurricane Fran - September 1996 TWA plane crash - July 1996 Oklahoma City Bombing - April 1995

Amateur Radio Operator WTC 2001

Emergency Communications is Teamwork

Medical & ReliefLaw EnforcementFire & Rescue

Dispatch Operators

Mobile Public(Highways & Roadways)

Neighborhoods

(Assist with Relay for the Public)

Radios:FRS * GMRS * CB

A.R.E.S. Monitor:> GMRS (REACT Repeater)> UHF/VHF (ARES Repeater)

Am Radio Operators

CERT Teams & Neighborhood Watch Block

Captains

Family Communications Plan

9-1-1 for Emergency Services

Family & RelativesHome, Work, Cell Phone

Friends & Church MembersSchools that Children AttendThose Outside the State

You should always have these phone numbers on paper with you at all times:

72-Hour Family Emergency Kit

Family Emergency Communications

Battery Powered AM/ FM Radio All Hazard Radio (NOAA Weather Radio) Scanner for monitoring

Police Fire

HT (Handy Talkie/ Walkie Talkie) Radios FRS Radios GMRS Radios (requires FCC license for talking on) Ham Band Radios (requires FCC license for talking on)

Spare batteries How to charge Cell Phone with no electricity?

DC Power Adapter Family Communications Plan

It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

-- Howard Ruff --

Remember…