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require external power to operate.

In an area wide emergency it may be easier to make a long-distance call than it is to make a local call. This has to do with the way telephone circuits are set up and routed. Establish an out-of-state contact that everyone can call during an emergency if local telephone circuits are out of service.

Everyone should have a list of contact numbers and several coins or a pre-paid calling card with them at all times in order to make calls from a payphone when necessary. When using coins I suggest taping the coins to the back of an index card and making a list of contact numbers on the front side of the card. This serves as a reminder that the coins are reserved to make telephone calls and shouldn't be used for that can of soda or pack of gum.

Cellular telephones can also provide an effective means of emergency communication. This of course depends on the local cellular towers being unaffected by the emergency in question, but also depends on your cellular telephone being charged (or having a fresh battery available) when needed. Make it a habit to keep your cellular telephone fully charged at all times. You might also want to consider a hand-crank charger to recharge depleted cell-phone batteries in an emergency.

YOUR FAMILY INTERNET / E-MAIL LINKS

During a widespread emergency, or one having a national focus it may be impossible to make a long distance telephone call, not because the circuits are destroyed but simply because they are overloaded. As thousands of people try to call into an effected area to check on loved ones, and as thousands more attempt to call out of an area to let friends and family know what is happening telephone circuits can become severely overloaded. When this happens the only thing you will hear on the line is the telephone company recording stating "all circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later."

In this case, it may still be possible to make a local telephone call to your local Internet provider (or you may have a DSL, cable or satellite connection). In this case e-mail may be your best option for contacting loved ones.

Another option is to create a family web-page containing a "guestbook". Anyone able to access the web-page can post information to the guestbook. You might want to set up a message forum to encourage on-going communication between widely dispersed family members. Of course in order to limit those able to post to the guestbook and message forum to family and friends it is probably

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