Here are three things to keep in mind about using the telephone in emergencies.
1. When disaster strikes, local phone lines may be jammed for days. If you are at home and your partner is at work, the best way to communicate will probably be through a contact out-of-state.
In preparation for emergencies such as earthquakes or terrorist events, agree on who all family members will call out of state. For my family, it’s my father-in-law in Illinois. If he’s not available, our second choice is a brother in Wyoming. If an earthquake in California should separate me from my family members for several days (which could easily happen), one call out-of-state will suffice to reassure everyone that all are safe.
Have you agreed on a first and second contact? It’s so easy! Don’t worry about making it perfect. Just do it now.
2. Another simple preparation: make sure you have a land line, and a phone that plugs into the wall. If the electricity is out, cordless phones will not function, so you’ll want to keep at least one old-fashioned land-line phone in your house.
3. It’s not possible to predict exactly what will happen in any given emergency, but emergency personnel believe it may be easier to send a text message that to use a mobile phone. So just in case, make sure you have a hand-crank cell phone charger in your home and your car.
Are you ready to reach out and touch someone? Leave a comment here.
[...] Officials are asking residents to text message friends and relatives instead of calling them to relieve congestion on the mobile phone network. (Learn to text if you don’t already know. Identify someone out of state who will be your family’s contact, since out of state communicat….) [...]
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