If there were a severe epidemic or pandemic, how could we best communicate

In a severe epidemic or pandemic, it's possible for telephone service to go down. A lot of worried people can shut down communications, and then critical infrastructure can't use telephone communications. This means that if it's bad, you might not be able to check on people and they might not be able to call you or health authorities. If they're getting slammed with requests for ambulances, for often the flu progressed to worse pandemic pneumonia or bacterial pneumonia as a secondary infection, then it doesn't matter if the phones are operating or not.

One of the ideas floated for people who are very sick with flu, would be to take a pillowcase and drape it across a window or door to indicate contagion within. Another idea is to write on the door in paint showing: 1) the number inside, 2)the number of ill people and 3)the number who died. This would allow first responders to quickly assess a neighborhood because they sure don't have time to knock door-to-door. For one thing, they have no idea in a pandemic if anyone is there, for some might flee a pandemic zone and spread illness.

That number might be needed by neighborhood carpenters making pine box coffins. That was done in 1918. So was burial.

Those numbers could be used by several people getting together, making soup, and then delivering it too. Then another group could make Oral Rehydrating Solution (ORS) in the aproximate packages needed and deliver it.

Some of you may shudder at that. You also might worry that it projects weakness and potential crime. It could conceivably cause stolen vehicles as gas gets low and gas stations are closed. Obviously if there is contagion inside, then no intelligent criminal is going inside, not for a long time.

However the dumbest criminals are often drug users seeking a fix. They will burglarize a home at times when no smart criminal would, and many armed confrontations happen because of this. Since they can't get a fix from their dealer, they might go looking especially if it's known that you use pain medicine or are elderly. Therefore weaker, potentially richer, and score drugs all at once.

The pillow method is very vague and means more communication is needed. Alternatively, the pillow could be placed in a certain method to indicate kinds of need. Probably if you start seeing information like that being disseminated, then you know the influenza this season is dangerous.

In 1918, despite race and religious differences, a lot of volunteers especially women (since men were off fighting in WW1) went around and helped people by acting as nurses, cooks, watching children, etc. They also volunteered at field hospitals because they didn't have enough nurses and support staff. They were extraordinarily brave and many did it because of their spiritual beliefs.

I wonder today if people would volunteer in the same percentages as 1918. I hope so. They were more trusting in some ways, but more racist in other ways, and yet they still did it because it was the right thing to do.

Because those people in 1918 had stored food in larders and pantries, they had food to give away. A lot of businesses closed, so volunteers didn't just run to the grocery, buy food for neighbors (maybe 5-15 of them) and then cook for them. They pulled from the food they had themselves.

This means they put themselves at risk by entering the homes of sick people and caring for strangers. Would you do that? You might need to.

You might be good at organizing and well liked in your neighborhood. As such, you could more easily get things going to help. Other people won't be good at social skills, but they're great one-on-one. Other people are terrors at social skills but could cook. Other might be very old, but could watch children.

Everyone could do something, because firewood needs to be chopped or deadwood gathered. Some strong guys may need to fetch water and haul it back. Someone may need to go for medicine for it's easier for one or two to get medicine for 100, then have 100 try to fetch it. Things get altered in an emergency. Some might act as security to watch the neighborhood. Some might be gophers (Go for this, go for that).

You think you'll be huddled inside, but in 1918, they helped each other. Otherwise more would have died.