Rainier Neighborhood Disaster Communication Hubs

Welcome!

This page describes the Rainier Neighborhood Disaster Communication Hubs for the City of Rainier. Our vision is that these Communication Hubs would be used by volunteer neighborhood groups organized around the "Map Your Neighborhood" concept. To learn more about "Map Your Neighborhood", watch for announcements of classes offered by Thurston County Emergency Management or the City of Rainier.

What Are Disaster Hubs?

We've divided Rainier into proposed neighborhood "hub" zones with assigned radio channels (see map below). Rainier residents can communicate by radio with nearby neighbors in their zone in event of a disaster.

When Hubs Would Be Used?

During a time of disaster (natural or man-made) when there is:

No cell phone service
No internet
Limited mobility

Why Hubs Would Be Used?

Radio contact with neighbors helps combat boredom and cabin fever
Moral support; neighbors helping each other cope with losses and issues
Provide connection to relay information and requests from the neighborhood to and from other neighborhoods or Rainier City Hall
Connect to local hams who can relay health and welfare information to family and friends outside of the disaster area

How Hubs Work

Neighbors use low-cost "blister pack" radios (sold at Walmart, Amazon, etc.) to communicate reliably in their neighborhoods using their neighborhood's assigned channel. These radios can be either unlicensed FRS or more powerful licensed GMRS radio models.

What's Next

We need volunteers interested in organizing their neighborhood hub. Designated persons from each neighborhood hub would receive training on how to relay disaster-related messages via radio. Established neighborhood hubs would be invited to participate in exercises and the Rainier EOC Radio Net (via a relay station).

Map of Neighborhood Communication Hub Channels

Download our Rainier Neighborhood Disaster Communication Hubs Flyer.

Rainier Neighborhood Disaster Communication Hubs are the neighborhood layer of a multi-layered approach at communications in a disaster scenario. For more information on how these groups integrate into our area's disaster communications planning, see the City of Rainier section of the East Thurston County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ETC ARES) Disaster Communications Plan (file "ETC_ARES_Disaster_Comm_Plan.pdf").

FRS Radio Recommendation

One radio that we can recommend for our neighbors is the Cobra CXT1045R-FLT-CAMO FRS/GMRS radio. The key features that make this recommended radio a good choice for disaster communications are:

Waterproof (good when you have to venture outside in a storm)
Possible to use alkaline batteries (a stock-pile of batteries will keep you on the air even through an extended power-outage).
Option to charge the rechargeable battery with mini-USB cable - many charging options exist for mini-USB during an extended power-outage, including portable solar panels.
2 Watt output power on the unlicensed FRS channels (1-7)
Option to use higher power (5 Watts) on channels 1-7 and 15-22 if you have a GMRS license from the FCC.
NOAA Weather Radio receive capability.

Similar radios are available on the market in our local area stores. If you have a radio with these key features, you'll be ready to communicate reliably via radio with your neighbors during a disaster event. If you want to learn more about FRS/GMRS, check out this link.