The system is moving from analog to digital. The in-between phase has weak spots.

There are large areas of the country where you still can't get a cell phone signal.

If patients avoid the ER, it could mean big revenue losses for hospitals.

New research indicates even many middle class families don't have enough saved for an emergency.

One of the hardest things to do in the wake of a disaster is communicate. Now researchers in Boston have a plan to address that with something called an ad-hoc network.

On the face of it, it sounds crazy: Your house or apartment is on fire, and rather than phoning the emergency services, you tweet them. But that is what the London Fire Brigade is mulling over.

In the event of natural disaster, drone planes and weather balloons could restore communications.