CREW WAS APCHING CONVECTIVE WX AHEAD. AT THE SAME TIME CREW LOST COM WITH CTR CTLR. CLRNC TO DEV WAS RECEIVED THROUGH RELAY FROM ANOTHER ACR.

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WE WERE CRUISING ALONG AT FL250 ON FILED RTE. SAW MASSIVE CLOUDS AND BUILDING CUMULUS IN OUR PATH ABOUT 30 MI AHEAD; SO I REQUESTED A DEV TO L OF COURSE. COM BECAME VERY DIFFICULT WITH ATC. I COULD ONLY MAKE OUT A FEW CLIPPED PHRASES OUT OF THE CTLR'S REPLIES. FINALLY; ACR FLT XXX INTERVENED AND RELAYED TO US THAT ATC HAD CLRED US TO DEV; WHICH WE DID AND AVOIDED THE WX. I ALSO CHKED OUR TCASII DISPLAY TO SEE IF THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN ANY CONFLICTING TFC AND DIDN'T SEE ANY. THEN; JUST AS I WAS WONDERING HOW TO RESOLVE OUR COMS PROB; I HEARD OUR CTLR HAND US OFF TO ANOTHER FREQ AND WE ACKNOWLEDGED AND MADE THE SWITCH. SHORTLY AFTER CHKING IN WITH THE NEXT CTLR; HE ASKED IF WE WERE DEVIATING AND I ANSWERED YES. THEN THE CTLR SAID HE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT! I EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PREVIOUS SECTOR AND HOW THE CLRNC HAD BEEN RELAYED THROUGH THE ACR FLT; AND THE CTLR ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBS THE PREVIOUS SECTOR WAS HAVING. WE WERE TOLD TO PROCEED ON COURSE WHEN ABLE AND THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT WAS ROUTINE. LATER THAT EVENING I SAW A NEWS STORY ABOUT AN EARTHQUAKE OF 5.2 MAGNITUDE OCCURRING IN NORTHWEST PA -- THE VERY PART OF THE COUNTRY WE WERE FLYING OVER; AT THE TIME OF OUR INCIDENT! IT THEN MADE SENSE WHY WE HAD DIFFICULTIES WITH ATC. I ASSUME THAT THE ACR FLT RELAYED A CORRECT CLRNC TO US; AND THAT THE NEXT CTLR WAS UNAWARE OF OUR DEV ONLY BECAUSE OF ATC LANDLINE PROBS CAUSED BY THE EARTHQUAKE.