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Real-time situational awareness

Ready-to-run emergency drill

Communications outage and radio-net activation

A broad communications outage tests offline official-information access, activation of a preplanned radio net, concise message handling, and participant accountability.

Scenario version 1 · Canonical guide: https://hazardnow.com/tools/emergency-exercise-builder/communications-outage-radio-net

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Session length
40–55 minutes
Objectives
3
Private workspace
No account or server save

Share or print this drill guide

The invitation contains only this public guide URL. Private workspace fields are never included.

Intended audience

NeighborhoodCERT / volunteer teamSmall organization

What the group practices

Maintain official information access

Use available authoritative broadcast or offline sources while internet and mobile services are unavailable.

Activate the backup radio net

Establish a controlled check-in process using only authorized equipment, agreed channels, or simulated transmissions.

Handle concise status messages

Record sender, location, status, needs, and acknowledgment while keeping confirmed and unconfirmed information separate.

Suggested roles

Exercise coordinator

Releases injects manually and stops play for any real-world communications or safety issue.

Exercise net-control lead

Practices the planned check-in sequence without using emergency or public-safety channels.

Message logger

Records simulated messages, acknowledgments, unresolved status, and information sources.

Five-stage workflow

One exercise, through improvement

  1. 1

    Configure

    Choose objectives, audience, roles, and private facilitator notes.

  2. 2

    Conduct

    Release each checked-in scenario update manually when the group is ready.

  3. 3

    Evaluate

    Record strengths and areas for improvement against the selected objectives.

  4. 4

    Hotwash

    Capture immediate participant, facilitator, and observer feedback.

  5. 5

    Improve

    Assign corrective actions, owners, target dates, and status.

Participant ground rules

  • The facilitator releases every inject manually; there is no automatic timer or scheduled radio traffic.
  • Use an agreed exercise channel only when authorized and lawful; otherwise speak or write simulated radio messages without transmitting.
  • Do not transmit on emergency or public-safety frequencies, create interference, or call agencies, utilities, repeaters, or outside organizations during exercise play.
  • Label every exercise message clearly, and use official sources for any real alert or incident information.

Simulation only

Facilitator injects, controller notes, expected actions, and evaluation criteria stay inside the private workspace. If a real incident interrupts the exercise, stop play, use the Live Dashboard, and follow official instructions.

HSEEP-informed, intentionally simplified

HazardNow provides a compact tabletop workflow for small groups. It is not an official HSEEP package, certification, or replacement for local procedures.

FEMA HSEEP overviewOfficial HSEEP resources
EXERCISE / SIMULATION — NOT A REAL INCIDENT. HazardNow checked-in scenario v1; HSEEP-informed and intentionally simplified. Follow official instructions during a real event.

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