In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, I have been reading of many friends who were able to stay in touch with family and loved ones because of their Smart phones. When the power went out, they were still able to update friends via Facebook, texting or Twitter.
My how times have changed. When I was a kid, braving hurricanes in Miami, Florida, we just hung out with our neighbors and prayed everyone was okay. It was usually days before you heard from everyone. Even twelve years ago, it was different. I went to college in South Carolina and remember my mom calling me once saying “we’re ok!” I had not even known there was a hurricane in Raleigh.
Social media and technological advancements have changed all that. I’m not alone in noticing. CNBC ran this article today.
And even though Hurricane Season is just about over, we still need to think about winter storms. We had a ice storm here in NC several years ago where people were without power for over a week.
Some simple tips include:
- In advance of severe weather, make sure to keep all cell phones fully charged.
- Purchase 1-2 back-up batteries. (How sad is it that we don’t have any back-up batteries yet?)
- Make sure you have car chargers for all devices.
- Download apps for the National Weather service or your local news station.
- Go a bit old school and make a list of emergency contact phone numbers.
Check out this great video that Verizon put together for some additional tips for planning communications during natural disasters.
I am participating in the Verizon Wireless Ambassador program and have been provided with a wireless device and three months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.
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