When something goes wrong, the first question most of us ask is simple: is everyone OK? Answering it is harder than it sounds. Phone networks fill up within minutes of a big event, mobile towers can lose power within hours, and family members are often in different places when it happens.
The new Family Communications Plan (OMC-PLN-002) is OmniCORE’s answer. It’s now in the Library, as a web page and as a printable PDF with fill-in worksheets.
What’s in it
- A PACE plan: a primary, an alternate, a contingency and an emergency way to reach each other, and how long to try each before moving on.
- Who, where and when: out-of-area contacts, three meeting points, and two fixed check-in times a day.
- What to say: every message in four parts (who, where, status, next contact), with three status colors anyone can use: GREEN (safe), YELLOW (need something) and RED (urgent help).
- Choosing radios, country by country: license-free and simple-license options for North America, Europe, Australia and beyond, plus amateur radio, satellite messaging and mesh radios.
- Licenses and emergencies: why licensing matters, what the rules allow in a real emergency, and OmniCORE’s position for extreme situations.
- Tier-by-tier checklists, drills, and three worksheets: a one-page household plan, a radio channel plan, and a message card to keep by every radio.
Where to start
Start with Tier 0. It costs nothing: sit down together, fill in the household plan, choose your out-of-area contacts, and print a contact card for everyone, children included. Then try one drill. A plan nobody has practiced is only a guess.
Built on the framework
The plan applies the Communications and Information & Awareness areas of the OmniCORE Readiness Framework, so its tiers line up with everything else in the Library.
Read the plan, or download the PDF and fill in the worksheets together this week.