Tips to help you keep in touch during a major disaster event such as a flood, cyclone or earthquake.
During the January 2011 Floods in South-East Queensland, the mobile phones were the primary communication resource used by the community. However, this was not without problems.
Whilst there were some reception issues in Somerset Region during the height of the storm, the primary problem was overwhelming congestion on the networks. The following useful advice to help mitigate those problems was issued to US citizens by FEMA in preparation for Hurricane Irene when millions were affected by high winds, heavy rains, and power outages. The advice has relevance for citizens in any disaster zone.
Make a plan to keep in touch
Source: FEMA (with slight editing for Australian relevance)
During or after a disaster, voice calling networks may become overwhelmed, so placing a call on your cell phone may be difficult.
Make sure family members have multiple ways to get in touch with each other as part of your emergency plan. So here are a few tips, including some from the Federal Communications Commission, to remember when trying to contact friends and family during or after Irene comes through your area:
Identify an out-of town contact. It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members. Make sure all family members know that person’s phone number and have a cell phone, coins or a prepaid phone card to call the emergency contact.
Send an update to friends/family through social networks or e-mail, instead of calling. If you have a smartphone, learn to update your status or send an e-mail in case your computer’s not available.
Limit non-emergency phone calls. This will minimize network congestion, free up "space" on the network for emergency communications and conserve battery power if you are using a wireless phone. Keep all phone calls brief. If you need to use a phone, try to use it only to convey vital information to emergency personnel and/or family.
Try text messaging, also known as short messaging service (SMS) when using your wireless phone. In many cases text messages will go through when your call may not. It will also help free up more "space" for emergency communications on the telephone network.
Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless handsets, to re-dial a number, you simply push "send" after you've ended a call to redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data from the handset to the cell sites do not have enough time to clear before you've resent the same data. This contributes to a clogged network.
Have charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for backup power for your wireless phone.
If you have call forwarding on your home number, forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. That way you will get incoming calls from your landline phone.
After the storm has passed, if you lose power in your home, try using your car to charge cell phones or listen to news alerts on the car radio. But be careful – don’t try to reach your car if it is not safe to do so, and remain vigilant about carbon monoxide emissions from your car if it is a closed space, such as a garage.
Additional Tips:
To conserve power on your mobile phone, you can turn off non-essential services such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and any background Apps. You could also turn off 3G and just use 2G (Edge) if it works at your location. You may also be able to obtains an app for your smart phone that helps to conserve power automatically.
It's also worth acquiring a small inverter (about $50) that can plug into the cigarette lighter socket of your car to charge electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones. In most cars, it's possible to turn the ignition key one notch to activate the radio and cigarette lighter without turning on the ignition.
