From monkeys in the Amazon Rainforest, to dolphins in the Caribbean, to ants under your picnic table, all species rely on communication with each other for survival. Humans are no different – we rely on communication to both warn and inform us, especially in times of crisis.
In our modern times, the possibility of being unable to easily and quickly communicate with your loved ones or receive vital information from trusted sources is hard to imagine. But in SHTF scenarios, one of the first systems to fail is modern communications. Regardless of the emergency—hurricane, solar flare, nuclear attack, or EMP, to name a few—communications with others will become extremely difficult, if not impossible. Without telephone, text, email, internet, or television, many people will be completely shut off from the outside world at a time when the sharing and receiving of information has never been more important.
Related: How To Make A Tin Can Directional WiFi Antenna to Extend your Communication after an EMP
Just a few examples of the ways you rely on modern forms of communication in emergency situations include:
- Receiving alerts via text of natural disasters and dangerous weather (for this particular case it is always adviced to learn the lost art of reading nature’s signs);
- Checking your favorite news app regularly for signs of SHTF;
- Calling your family to let them know your spouse has to be taken to the emergency room;
- Listening to the radio for traffic updates, including road closings and delays;
- Emailing your boss to let them know that you have a flat tire and are going to be late to work.
When our communication is cut off, three things happen immediately:
- We lose our ability to send information;
- We lose our ability to get information; and
- People get scared.
If you are concerned that a SHTF situation, whether natural or man-made, could cut you and your family off from vital information you need to survive, take heart – by using a simple communication device, your family can continue communication with each other and with important sources of help, such as the Red Cross or your local emergency shelter.
To prepare your family for communicating in an emergency, you have several options of communications devices. From devices that just transmit (such as shor