We just observed Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Day, when we remember the horrible things man can do to his fellow man. Millions dead including a huge branch of my family, economies unravelled, and generations of infrastructure destroyed.

Last week was the 100th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. I live a mile from the Hayward fault line. When it flattens the East Bay and San Francisco, we'll want our communications up and running in hours, but the phone companies are begging off.

Ask the Federal Communications Commission to help if you live in the United States and may be exposed to any of the following horrors:

Firestorm, Mudslide, Avian Flu or other Epidemic, Hurricane, Tsunami, Volcanic Eruption, Landslide, Avalanche, Radiation Contamination, Terrorism, Earthquake, Tornado, Terrorist Attack, Flood

Jeff Pulver and Tom Evslin propose that the FCC order local phone companies to do one of two things now in advance of the next disaster. Prepare to immediately:

1. Give all customers a voice mail account, or
   
2. Hand-off local phone numbers to other phone companies, even outside the region

These keep families, businesses, and government agencies in touch, even when homes are under water and everyone you know is scattered across the continent. They cost next to nothing and value for personal and regional economic recovery are immense.

Here's what you can do to help America bounce back faster from the next calamity:

1. Go to the FCC comment database.
2. Enter RM-11327 in the first line where it requests the "Proceeding" (this is the Petitions "RM" number)
3. Fill in the other minimal contact info requirements
   
4. Submit a brief (persuasive) statement

You can see everyone else's comments by putting RM-11327 in the first field.