@nprofile1q... The repeat mode in MeshCore isn't really designed to create community meshes. It's an adhoc thing for smaller groups on hikes etc. It runs intentionally on a different frequency. One of the MC design choices is that a limited number of nodes can repeat (only repeaters) because the air time is limited and too many devices repeating everything just eat each other's air time. It's one of the reasons why MT has much bigger problems with scaling than MC.
But I admit there are situations and use cases where MT may be better. Your post-storm situation may be one of them. An MC response to that would be building more reliable repeaters. In our country we run repeaters on high elevation peaks with really extreme weather conditions. Some of them have gone through several iterations to make them cope with the conditions.