Alternative Methods of Communication

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 The Political Kingdom of God

 

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Governmental Theodemocracy

 

the blending of religious belief and democracy

 

"Where God and the people hold the power to conduct the affairs of men in righteousness"

                         

 Where peaceful people who love liberty and uprightness can gather before and during the coming calamities for survival and a little slice of heaven on what will otherwise be a hellish earth.

  

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Principles of Law    A New Constitution of Liberty   Citizen Compact   Citizenship    The Fundamental Rights of Man  Philosophy of law and Government by Joel Skousen

 

 "Where peaceful people who love liberty and uprightness can gather before and during the coming calamities for survival and a little slice of heaven on what will otherwise be a hellish earth".

 

 

"And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the sceptre of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints (a Moses-like calling) whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God".(D&C  85:7) 

 

 

 "Such As Will Administer the Law in Equity and Justice Should be Sought for and upheld"

Alternative Methods of Communication

The Below Article

 is 

Written by David Dawson

Here is the link to his web page

If you ask a person who has been through a natural disaster, you will find out how difficult it is to establish communication immediately after. Usually power is down and landline communications are interrupted due to tower loss and other technical difficulties. Even though we live in an extremely technological era, an alternative communication system during disaster is an absolute necessity in such times. Rescue teams use these systems to get in touch with people who have been isolated and families get to find out about their loved ones.

Sometimes multiple disasters strike at the same time or at a short time difference like it happened in Virginia in 2011. People living here had to endure destructive tornadoes, the Tropical Storm Lee, Hurricane Irene and a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. It certainly seemed like God had a problem with that particular spot on Earth and people who were there know that in the minutes and days after everything calmed down it was very difficult to contact the authorities or to call their region emergency number.

We are used to be able to communicate at every given moment in time, with people who live thousands of miles away from our location which is why the need of an alternative communication system during disaster may seem obsolete and unnecessary. We often forget that our communication technology runs on power and it needs signal towers in order to reach the recipient device.

Benefits of social media and emergency response infographic

Communication is very important in our day-to-day life but it becomes crucial during and after a disaster. People need to let their loved ones know that they are safe and that all their family members are safe as well. Also, there are situations when family members get separated.

We all have to admit that earthquakes, storms, tornadoes, and all other natural disasters are frightening and extremely impressive. Mother Nature’s unleashed fury makes people panic and lose their calm and sometimes families get separated in a stampede. That’s why it is extremely important that everyone knows what to do in case this happens and how to get in touch as soon as they are safe.

How to communicate during a natural disaster?

Natural disaster preparation is very important and it has to be done in advance especially when it comes to communication. You need to prepare a communication system that will hold during disaster. For example, if you have Voice over IP (VoIP) that will definitely won’t work.

As you can see, a communication system during disaster is extremely important and if you are lucky enough to have a working phone don’t waste it’s battery on activities that are not important like games and watching videos.

Other types of emergency communication systems

Mobile phones, landlines, tablets, and laptops represent our main way of communication these days. If you are lucky, these devices may help you get through a natural disaster, by offering you the possibility to stay in touch with friends and family or to get in touch with authorities and rescue teams.

Still, there are many situations when traditional and modern communications failed all together leaving isolated people at the mercy of chance. That’s why an alternative communication system is absolutely necessary in a shelter or a place where people gather waiting to pass the natural disaster safely. If you have one at home is even better but if not, you need to know where the closest one is in case you need to get in touch with rescue teams.

The best Emergency Communication System or ECS must have the following attributes:

Solution #1 – using radio waves

Radio waves are transmitted based on Earth’s ionosphere which makes them the perfect candidate when it comes to communicating during the worst scenarios of natural disasters. The only disadvantage might be the fact that most of them operate on power but they also have back-up systems using batteries or solar power.

Two-way radio

There are three types of devices one can use to contact first responders:

These are the main radio equipments that can help you during a difficult time such as natural disasters. It’s better to have at least one of them even if you own mobile phone. In case your phone doesn’t work, a radio will definitely save the day.

Solution #2 – public devices

As you can imagine, there are two types of ECS according to their owner: public and private. The private ones are the ones we’ve already discussed: mobile phones, radio devices, tablets, laptops and so on. They are destined to be used by one single person.

Public devices are meant to warn as many people as possible at the same time using visual and/or audio signals. Thus, we have:

Another public alternative communication system during disaster is the media (television, newspapers, online publications, and radio broadcasting) but if you want to alert the population about an immediate danger, the systems enumerated above are more effective.

Solution #3 – satellite communication system

Catastrophic events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and/or fire are usually followed by general madness and the lack of a working communication system makes things even worse.

So, when landlines and power are down and no modern or traditional system is working satellites are fine and continue their safe journey in orbiting the planet. This allows rescue teams and emergency responders to meet immediate communication needs, using satellites and satellite systems. This type of communication is used mostly by humanitarian organizations and first responders who are usually present at big, catastrophic events like Haiti.

Sattelite communication station

There are a few examples that prove how fragile a terrestrial communication structure is. Communication towers usually get destroyed during these kinds of situations leaving people in the dark without any possibility of contacting the authorities and asking for help. This is what happened when:

After these events and many like these, the importance of a wireless communication system that is not based on a terrestrial structure increased for local governments and authorities. This is where satellite communication entered the scene. They present a series of advantages towards terrestrial communication but the most important advantage is the fact that they work while floating around our planet where no wind, water or fire can reach them.

There are two main types of satellite communication that someone could use in case of emergency: Geostationary Satellite Systems (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEO).

GEO support a full range of communication services like voice, broadband data and video and they are located at 36.000 km above our planet. They sit in a fixed position and usually are owned by a country or an organization responding to special (fixed or mobile) equipments located on Earth (antennas and mobile terminals). They are not just an alternative communication system during disaster they are also very useful at warning people about seismic activity that could transform in a catastrophic situation and floods.

Also, governments can broadcast warnings and keep the general flow of information during difficult times. At this moment, there are about 300 commercial GEOs floating above our heads, outside the terrestrial atmosphere.

LEOs are (as the name specifies) situated on the low orbits between 780 and 1500 km and they are used to deliver low speed data and voice. They are easier to contact using a mobile unit, the size of a cellular phone. The fact that terrestrial units are so easy to carry allows rescue team to use these satellites in any situation.

Satellite communication in case of natural disasters only works if local authorities, humanitarian organizations and first responders prepare in advance. They need to know the area and what type of satellite units they are going to need. There are three main types:

Are you really prepared?

As you can see, according to the type of communication required there are some preparations that have to be done in advance, like:

Like everything else, when it comes to a natural disaster, finding the right alternative communication system requires preparation in advance. Every person must be aware of the fact that disasters are called this way because they tend to flatten everything down in their way starting with houses, cars, trees and ending up with communication towers. If this happens you can’t rely on traditional systems to alert authorities and rescue teams – you must have an alternative.