Survival rules: what to do when all communications are out

Communications.

The example of Kazakhstan, where the Internet and messengers WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal were immediately shut down at the beginning of the Revolution, speaks volumes.

And when the war starts, communications might be the first to disappear.

What should an average Ukrainian do?

Imagine that the grid is down. All of it. No phones, no internet, no nothing.

There are battles, shelling, you need to evacuate, there is no gasoline at the stations, and it is completely unclear what is happening.

All normal people have a plan and a certain set of things:

A knife, a supply of water, gasoline, a backpack, fire starters, a first aid kit, dry food, weapons and alternative sources of communications.

Let's imagine that you are a typical person, and you don't have a weapon and a first aid kit, for example. And you don't know where to start.

Start with communication.

As you don't know how to use weapons, you either have a car or you don't, and without weapons it will be taken away, or it won't work because of an electromagnetic pulse after a nuclear strike somewhere in the neighboring region, it doesn't matter.... I have a first aid kit at home.

Communication.

First, agree with your family where you will meet them in the first 24 hours of the crisis. For example, at home.

They are forced to leave the premises, so where they should go or where to wait for you?

Take all measures with children in mind. If children can do it, others will be able to do it.

Prepare in advance a place where you will be left a note. Discuss with your family what they will use to write the note.

Agree where and in which city you will wait for your family if you cannot get home.

For example.

Everyone waits for you at home for 24 hours. If there is no connection and you need to evacuate, leave a note where you will be evacuated. They will look for you there.

If you are separated from your family for a long time, they should know where you will look for them or wait in another city. For example, with relatives in the village or a distant city outside of the fighting. It can be Lviv, Ternopil, Uzhhorod.

If there is no connection at all and there is nowhere else to go, then in such cases I identify a public, iconic place, such as the Lviv Opera House, where I will wait every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

All of that need to be discussed.

For local communication, take walkie-talkies. There are inexpensive Chinese ones that have done a lot of good at the front. These are simple walkie-talkies that you can teach a child to use. I have six of them at home. One for the family and two spare ones that I use as additional charged batteries, which means 8 hours of communication. Teach your family how to use it. The radius in the city is 1 km, which means you won't get lost in the crowd, which is critical because there will be no smartwatches or phones. Communication is life, just like water.

You also need a regular radio. I have one from the Red Cross. There you will find out where to go for humanitarian aid.