pretty sure the main problem is distance on the frequencies and power ratings that are available to unlicensed users. Hams can use more power (because in theory

pretty sure the main problem is distance on the frequencies and power ratings that are available to unlicensed users. Hams can use more power (because in theory we know how to do it without cooking nearby people) and we can transmit on wavelengths with greater potential for travel. https://disaster.radio https://disaster.radio is one of the groups trying to address similar problems via unlicensed mesh networks but the problem they (and others) have is that you just need a boatload of nodes to get the signal across any distance. You can't roll that out in an emergency, and it's a logistical nightmare to buy, setup, power, and maintain enough of them that in an emergency (including power outage) there will be enough of them to get the message from the people in need to the people who can do something about it.