We are in month three of KLCC's Oregon Ready: taking one month at a time toward being two weeks ready for disasters.
In my own personal quest to become better prepared, I’m following the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s “Pledge to Prepare” program which maps to Oregon’s “Be 2 Weeks Ready” initiative – and I’ve invited you all to join me.
The March checklist includes securing a battery-powered broadcast emergency radio.
I have a unique perspective on the importance of having a broadcast radio - afterall, it just might be my voice that’s coming to you with important information if we find ourselves in a community disaster situation.
But since I began this preparedness journey, I’ve learned just how important other types of radio communication could be in a disaster. This ranges from simple walkie-talkies to communicate with neighbors, right up to licensed ham radio operators who will be tasked with communicating information to emergency managers.
Inside Eugene’s volunteer emergency radio network
Every Wednesday night in Eugene, a group of volunteers checks in over radio. It’s called the Eugene EmComm weekly net — a chance to practice the thing many of us never think about until disaster strikes: how to communicate when everything else fails.
One of the volunteers keeping this system running is Andy Davis. Davis says EmComm began after the 2019 Snowmageddon, when ice brought down trees, power lines, and entire neighborhoods went dark.
“The city emergency manager came to me and said you need to develop an emergency communication system for the city of Eugene," said Davis.
Since then, the group has grown into a network of about 100 radio users, all working toward the same goal.
Davis explained that EugeneEmComm plays a role of “getting information out to the city in a type of an emergency when there's no phones or power."
Davis says radio can fill that gap. During the ice storm of 2024, people in Eugene’s South Hills — including me — learned how fast communication can go down.
"Some senior folks, parents- kids that lived elsewhere could not get in touch with their parents, and that was a big motivator,” said Davis. “But in order to get information out and say ‘we need help,’ if you have a radio, that’s the only way."
During a disaster, these volunteers don’t wait for orders. They get to work.
“In a major event, the Eugene Emergency Communications System- EmComm- and all their volunteers from the neighborhood all the way up to the ham radio operators- we will self-deploy and we will start gathering information for the city of Eugene,” said Davis.
That means walking their neighborhoods — literally.
"We have teams they call damage assessment teams,” said Davis. “It usually consists of three people, two people that walk together, that check out the neighborhood and then tell their findings to the radio team leader.”
From there, using a chain-of-command, they radio the neighborhood information to Eugene’s Emergency Operations Command Center. It’s hyper‑local, person‑to‑person reporting — collected, verified, and passed on to city emergency managers.
Communication challenges in rural Lane County
In more rural parts of Lane County — where roads are fewer and help takes longer to arrive — radio can be even more essential. That’s especially true in the McKenzie River Valley, where 2020’s Holiday Farm Fire destroyed homes — and the communication systems the community relied on.
Sarah Hunter lives up river and is part of McKenzie Community Communications- a network of radio users in that area. “I would describe myself as a community member who saw a gap in community needs and is doing the best she can to fill that gap,” said Hunter.
After 2024’s ice storm, Hunter came to a realization.
“If you use a radio to check on your neighbors, you don't have to go out in the dark when it's icy, when it's cold,” she said. “So you don't slip on the way home and find your neighbors are fine, but then have a fire department or EMTs have to come after you because you were doing the great thing, checking on your neighbors. But there's a way to do it safely, and there's a way to do it not quite as safely.”
Hunter says living up the McKenzie means knowing your neighbors — and knowing you can count on them.
“Every time we have a disaster- and this is very true of the McKenzie River Valley- we come together afterwards and afterwards and say what went right, what went wrong. And communication tended to be a big thing of “we need to know what our neighbors are doing,” said Hunter.
For Hunter, that means having a dedicated group of neighbors who know they can rely on radio communication when less reliable infrastructure isn't an option.
“We're a community that actually sort of realizes we have basically one road in and one road out,” she said. “And so, especially in a Cascadia (earthquake) event, we are not going to be the first priority of Lane County- I mean that’s just the reality- that’s not where the resources should be going. I mean that’s kind of a sad fact, but… what that means is that you go ‘OK, I need to know who my neighbors are. I need to know who I can rely on.’"
And of course, the more people who are prepared to use radio communication in a disaster, the better.
Where to begin with emergency radio preparedness
Andy Davis says EmComm is working to build capacity across Eugene and they’re in need of more volunteers.
There are different levels of radio communicators, starting with those who use FRS, or Family Radio Service. These are the easy-to-use handheld walkie-talkies often used by outdoor recreationists.
The next level is GMRS: General Mobile Radio Service. These radios travel farther distances and require a license through the FCC. Finally, ham radios are used to cover much larger distances and require the operator to take a test to obtain a license from the FCC.
All it takes to get started is a visit to EugeneEmComm.org, and a commitment to being better prepared for ourselves and for others.
“We want to do whatever we can to serve our community basically,” said Davis.
That’s month three of Oregon Ready—and for me, a new appreciation for volunteers and a different way to think about the importance of radio communication in a disaster.
If you have questions about disaster preparedness, send me an email to questions@klcc.org.
One month, one step—we’re getting Oregon Ready together.
