In practical terms the ham bands are self-policing. If you do something against the rules, hams will ask you to cut it out. The FCC will generally only get involved if you persist and there are complaints, or if you're causing massive interference (crap equipment spewing RF all over). In some NO-type of situation there's not likely to be any repercussions from using whatever equipment you have available. That said, the question of who exactly you hope to communicate with is important.

I'd say if you want to go the ham route, do it the right way, get a license and get on the air and get familiar with proper on-air procedures. Hams have organized networks for getting emergency traffic out of disaster areas but participation requires knowing what you're doing. You can join RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) etc. and get involved with preparation and operation, which is much more proactive than just having some rig in the closet and trying to figure out how to use it if the SHTF hoping someone is at the other end.