when all other means of communication is down. Ham radios will work. just drilled last week. made voice contacts and sent emails to others via radio. it works and will stay open.

Where does one get a Ham radio?

to legally speak on one you have to get a license from the fcc in the US. different countries have different requirements. in the US you can go to the ARRL website and searxh for a local club who will administer a test.

As far as the radio...if you just want to listen to local stuff tou can get a cheap HT (walkie talkie) from Amazon. something like a baofeng uv5r will let you recieve and transmit. those radios are good for line of site communication or listening/ talking to repeaters.

long distance communication tou will need your liscense as most dealers wont sell you a radio( transmitter) without verifying your license. if you just want to listen. Get an SDR dongle with and upconverter. Connect it to your computer and you can listen all day.

I noticed that you said you sent e-mails to others via radio. How do you send an e-mail by radio? Don't you need the internet for that?