... how to use ham operators to reach or get news about loved ones in a local disaster?

Sure, we all know that we have emergency nets and many of us train to be helpful in the event we are needed, but how does anyone outside ham radio know and how would they be guided to ham operators?

I was asked this question today after explaining the nature of ham radio net training and message handling and I have to admit I was kinda stumped...

Anyone?

The interface between John Q. and amateur radio is usually The Red Cross or other agency like FEMA or local LE.

Back in Episode 24, Carl told a few stories about this very 'thing'... People know People who know People.  
Will it be someones first thought-No.  But during discussions, it'll probably come up like this:
Shelters and relief orgs will more than likely utilize whatever is easy and effective (Ham Radio Ops Looking to help)

A few years ago the AmRRON guys went to one of the towns suffering with a big fire and set up shop with the permission of the Local Mayor.  From there they were sending Health/Wellfare Emails out utilizing Winlink, as well as broadcasting with a part 15 FM transmitter for those left in town to keep up with the news and announce they were there and avail for comms support.
you can look around here for details

I don't think most people would know.

I have friends who thought ham radio died out 50 years ago. When I got my license, they said something like:  "Why bother?  Nobody does that anymore".

Amateur radio is a great, "unknown hobby".

After an emergency event, a 4' x 8' of ply out front with a painted sign saying:

HAM RADIO HERE

WILL SEND YOUR MESSAGE

And have some pads with radiogram forms and pencils available.  Tell them fill out the form,
their intended recipient, address, phone number.  

Make the message short and sweet, "Aunt Lucy, we are all OK.  Minor roof damage only.  Jim
and Louise."  

Tell them to check back in the evening or the next day for a possible reply.

And guys... brush up on your message handling, perhaps during a radio net.

Also, if any of you want the ARRL Radiogram form in Excell format, one you can type into the
blanks via computer, message to me your email address.  I will send you, as an attachment,
an MS Excell file that has (1) ARRL Radiogram form, (2) ICS-213 General Message form, and
(3) a combined Radiogram / ICS-213 form our division head and I created.    Type in the blanks,
save as... you know the drill.

You can use this file to print forms ahead of time, or go paperless.  

To power a laptop, if you have 12v for your radio gear, you can run your laptop, too.  Shop
Amazon for a 12v laptop power supply for your model laptop.  They make them that will
step up voltage to 19 volts or whatever your laptop requires, instead of having to use an inverter
and them the computer supply.  Cut off the cigarette lighter plug, and put on a 30 Amp Anderson
Power Pole.  Also put one on the plug you cut off.  You can plug it back together for use in a
car, but also you can now plug your laptop directly into your 12v ham gear system.

Thanks for the AmRRON link.  I stumbled across it way back when but think it might be something interesting to look into further.  One thing that bugs me about some of our local groups, is the unprepared and the mentality, that others will provide for them without any preparation on their part.  There are even a few who I have heard mocking "preppers."  That really turned me off.  I am still involved as I an be with RACES but working shift work doesn't allow me to participate in the nets hardly at all.

Nobody knows about ham radio anymore. I even work with engineers who don't know about ham radio. I don't know a single person who would even think to seek out a ham radio operator to pass message traffic, into or out of an affected area. Even if they did think about it, I'm not certain any of them are smart enough to figure out how to make contact with a ham. And, I suspect that if someone did contact a random local ham, that random local ham wouldn't know how to go about it themselves.

ETA: people come over to my house and ask "What are all those wires for?" When I answer they say "What's ham radio?" I've never had such a conversation go differently.

Interestingly enough, I manage a team of 7 computer geeks (including myself).  4 of us have active licenses, one is expired, the other 2 are interested.

this.

I asked this question of the local guy I bought my first HF rig from.  He poured me some coffee and we talked about how he and some pals loaded up their go bags into his RV (he pointed with his cup of coffee) and drove down to the gulf coast after Hurricane Ike.  Through ARES they'd hooked up with local Red Cross and had parked their RV near the food line and set up data links and message stations.

I still have on my "want to do" list to create a bootable USB key that after booting will create a wifi hotspot that when you connect to it, it redirects you to a browser form to enter a short message.

And SATERN Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network.

You could easily do this with a netbook and a Ubiquiti wireless access point.

The UniFi controller software has an option to redirect to a guest portal which would be your local website running on IIS or similar on the netbook.  The site could present a form and when the person hits submit you can have the site format the information into a PDF (with another aand save it to disk, print it, etc.  Since it is a PDF. the output can be in a radiogram looking format.

The external WAPs are weatherproof so they can mount on a comms trailer, pole, etc. and they have great coverage.

If you want to expand the wireless, Ubiquiti makes point-to-point devices that can link multiple trailers, even uplink a mobile site to a base location up to 20+ miles away - all on unlicensed frequencies.  They make some licensed freq products also that can be used to minimize interference.

I remember when JJS & others deployed to do this. I was standing by for any MT traffic for that one.

Great resource that they practice regularly to keep proficient.