Pretty much all modern communications depend upon electricity. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about radio, television, the Internet or telephones, every device we count on to communicate uses electricity for its power source. Should the grid go down, those devices will cease to function.

Nevertheless, if there is one time when some form of communication is needed, it’s during a major catastrophe. You’ll need to be able to find out what’s going on, inform family members that you’re okay, and find information to survive. Without the ability to communicate, all problems will be magnified.

While the power might be out, there will probably still be some communications available. The federal government established emergency communications procedures that radio stations are required to practice. Many of those radio stations have generators for emergency power.