its also worth pointing out a ham radio license is not needed to transmit in an emergency so all the more reason to throw the cheap ht in tackle box
Get your amateur license (studying for the test will help you with the basic theory and operations of the radio), but more importantly, join your local ham club, or at least participate in their monthly nets -- but it's better to join them in emergency drills and other activities.
This will give you experience on how to operate your radios under real world conditions.
Modern radios have so many features that it's easy to inadvertently turn on some setting that makes it unusable, especially if you're the "throw it in a box and get it out if I need it" type of user who doesn't understand all the features on the radio.
If you do that today you can search the web or go to a local club meeting for help. If you do it in a disaster, you may not be able to use your radio when you need it most.
The same holds true for all of your “I only need it in case of disaster” supplies. I’ve had a small tent in my earthquake kit for over a decade. Last year I figured I’d put it up to make sure it was still usable and discovered that I didn’t have the tent poles so it was pretty much useless.
You’re overthinking this. It says nothing about method. If a station is available to you, normal communication systems are not available, and there is an immediate threat to life or property, then use the station. Simple as that.
This is a clarifying rule and it’s important to look at the intent, which effectively boils down to “if it’s truly an emergency, rules can be ignored”, even if it’s structured semantically in a way that the definitions do not necessarily agree.