I just came across a very interesting article on the Silicon Alley Insider called, A Cyber-Attack on an American City. The article instantly grabbed my attention:

"Just after midnight on Thursday, April 9, unidentified attackers climbed down four manholes serving the Northern California city of Morgan Hill and cut eight fiber cables in what appears to have been an organized attack on the electronic infrastructure of an American city. Its implications, though startling, have gone almost un-reported."

The article goes on to discuss the effects of this attack on the City and its emergency response operations. It is a great review of areas that are at risk during situations like these:

"The first lesson is what stayed up: stand-alone radio systems and not much else. Cell phones failed. Cellular towers can not, in general, connect phone calls on their own, even if both phones are near the same tower. They communicate with a central switching computer to operate, and when that system doesn't respond, they're useless."

Read the full article here: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-cyber-attack-on-an-american-city-2009-4

Maintaining communications is key to survival in an emergency. Here is some information on RACES (The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service), which is an organization sponsored by City of San Jose's Office of Emergency Services, and FEMA. RACES provides additional communications channels to the City organization in times of declared emergency. Communications support for public services events of a non-emergency nature are also provided by our amateur radio operators.

RACES is a public service provided by a reserve (volunteer) communications group within government agencies in times of extraordinary need. During periods of RACES activation, certified unpaid personnel are called upon to perform many tasks for the government agencies they serve. Although the exact nature of each activation will be different, the common thread is communications.

Check it out!