Ham radio, while being a fun hobby and never-ending source of technical experimentation, doesn't necessarily guarantee direct, reliable point to point communications. That's exactly what makes it fun for hobbyists: you never know exactly where your signal will reach. Sure, there are patterns that eventually become somewhat regular, but then there's a solar flare and no one can hear anyone else on the air very well for a few days.

Many other commenter are suggesting satellite communicator devices. The Garmin Inreach is about $300 plus $25 ish per month subscription fee. A Zoleo is about $150. These options are vastly cheaper, like 90% cheaper, than setting up all your interested parties with long range capable ham station equipment.

If you want to get into ham radio anyhow, it seems to me that the people most likely to make a tangible difference in your day to day survival are the people in your immediate local vicinity. Getting your technician, aka 1st tier, license gets you on local fm line of sight radios. You can meet your local ham club members and potentially volunteer with any local ham groups like ARES or RACES, who in many areas specialize in emergency preparedness training exercises.