Aeschylus, the Greek tragic dramatist, wrote that “In war, truth is the first casualty.”

This is certainly true in natural and man made disasters, but the second casualty is usually communications.

If you have friends or loved ones in New York City or Washington, DC after the 9/11 terrorist attacks or the same in or around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, you know what I am talking about.

When traditional means of infrastructure are hit with a massive disruption, be it a storm, terrorist act or even during severe, but not violent weather, our communications infrastructure is one of the first to go.

Even land-line phones are susceptible to disruption if telephone lines are brought down and cell phones are dependable, but not if the cell system is switched off or the cellular infrastructure disrupted.

That means it is critical that you have a means of communications beyond what you usually rely on.

On the next page, we consider some alternatives.

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