Who do you call when communications are down?

Ham radio operators, of course...

We sometimes forget the value of "older" techology in these days of the internet and satellite phones, but a ham radio and a generator 1000 miles away has saved 86 lives...

and he is not alone...
LINK
Over 500 ham radio operators are providing emergency communications in the hurricane devastated areas while other systems are still being repaired.

Hundreds more are aiding right from their home by relaying messages to families around the country. The Amateur Radio operators, often called "hams," are working in shelters, offices of emergency preparedness and many temporary locations being used in the disaster response.

Because of their communications work, hundreds of lives have been saved already. Hundreds more ham volunteers are in neighboring states and ready to come in once emergency organizations are able to enter the affected areas.

In addition to providing emergency communications for various agencies, hams are aiding in informing the thousands of anxious families about people trapped in the area. Hams have coordinated nation-wide to allow many victims to tell distant families about their status.

Here is another example:LINK

The Shawnee man, a longtime amateur radio operator, or “ham,” was off duty after a four-hour shift of handling Hurricane Katrina-related messages through the Shared Resources High Frequency Radio Program.

The program, known as Shares, provides the emergency response community with a single, interagency emergency-message-handling system when normal communications are down.

Since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Goll, 81, has been getting messages to agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“I relayed a message to the Red Cross that there were 120 aircrafts with pilots available to transport supplies and material,” Goll said. “And I also talked to someone in Atlanta who had housing available there for refugees.”

Although Goll doesn’t handle messages from individuals trying to locate missing loved ones, he has helped with rescues.

“I got a message that there were some people in an attic who needed to be rescued and was able to get word to the right people,” he said. “I also got a message from a group of FEMA workers who were trapped on a bridge that was about to collapse and we got them out of there.”

The Shares program was established by the National Communications System, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. It uses high-frequency radio to transmit national security and emergency preparedness information when other means fail.

And here is a link from Texas: LINK

Texas, as you know, has lots of refugees...staying in hotels...if you read the last link, it mentions this...want to bet the hotels will never get a penny for their help?

Ah, but it's easier to bash bush in editorials than see the thousands of people helping in so many ways...