Emergency Communication

Here on the West Coast, Hurricane Sandy was no threat, but with the world growing smaller, it was easy to feel connected to it. Through Twitter, I follow several people located in New York and New Jersey, and their tweets kept me updated in real time. I saw photos, I read things, and probably the most ominous part was within a few minutes three people tweeted that they lost power.

Fortunately, the storm ended, everyone that I had personal concern for was fine (some home repairs are needed, but that's minor considering how it could have been), and while there is a lot that needs to be fixed on the larger scale, there are also many inspiring stories and actions coming out of it. We can take the good, and work on the bad together.

From a preparedness standpoint, what was most fascinating to me was how communication has changed. That people were able to update us via Twitter was a new twist to the standard emergency scenario. I began to wonder if the old concern about not being able to use cell phones was outdated. Have we overcome some of technology's lapses?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-15/why-cell-phones-went-dead-after-hurricane-sandy.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/cell-phone-internet-hurricane-sandy_n_2052431.html
http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2012/10/cell-phone-users-in-sandy-affected-areas-advised-to-limit-calls-for-now.html

Well, yes and no.There is certainly a lot that can be said about regulation and strengthening infrastructure, but that is the kind of thing I tend to go after in my main blog. From a strict preparedness view, we are still looking on what resources you are likely to have, what will probably be missing, and what you will need.

So, the odds are good that cell phone use will be limited, if not completely unavailable. In the past when they have mentioned that, the focus was that people would be flooding the networks, and it would be overuse causing the shortage. This may be less of an issue now that there are so many wireless internet based options, but there are still other factors.

A quarter of the cell phone towers were knocked out in a 10-state area. That is a significant loss. Many people had lost cable. Some of that was due to electrical outages,but no matter how much happens via wireless, there are physical components somewhere. There are servers and routers and hubs located somewhere, and any of those can be damaged by physical events.

Personally, I am still a big proponent of keeping a landline. I'm not saying that it's perfect, or that I won't change my mind a little down the road, but there will be times when the landline will work and a cell phone won't. Sometimes it is easier to get calls out of the area than locally, so have a central out of area point where everyone can call in. If bad things ever take over the ground between Aloha and La Center, we will know of each other's safety by telling our sister-in-law's brother in Texas, and we will be able to know that they are fine. That will be good.

For the social networking on smart phones, that is great, and I am really glad that those have been able to help. Those devices are also notorious for heavy battery use, and once power is out, recharging may be difficult. You need to be as smart as your phone. If you know something is on the way, get your devices charged while you can. If it will be more important to have a way to get messages out later, rather than now, then be mature and power down. In a multiple device household, maybe turns can be taken. And if you notice that the battery is draining too rapidly, figure it out. I have an example of that right here (the November 12th post):

http://tinyscreenfuls.com/

Next, work out low-tech ways of communication. One family kept a baby bottle with pencils and paper next to a water meter. Since it was out of the house it was accessible to anyone, it was watertight, and they could leave notes for each other if people needed to be coming and going.

Don't rule out walkie talkies. Yes, the distance is limited, but they can come in handy, and they are fun toys right up until the time that the emergency happens, and then they are useful tools.

HAM radio users get to be the heroes over and over again. They have set up relays when 9-1-1 communication was compromised even for relatively small emergencies, and in a big one they will be the best way of making contact between areas.

It seems like it should be obvious why this is so important, but think about the peace of mind of knowing that your family is okay. I heard from everyone I was worried about, but one of them had relatives they were still waiting to hear from. There were people who died and there were people who lost their homes, so sometimes the news you can get ends up being bad, but nothing eats away at you like uncertainty, and nothing will relieve you like knowing loved ones are safe.