Are you ready for a disaster?

A few days ago, my wife and I were discussing disaster preparedness. The conversation arose when California Governor Newsom said California would fully reopen on June 15. You might be wondering why that could be a disaster. I remember when COVID-19 became a national disaster, and water, toilet paper, and disinfecting items became scarce. It sucked. My wife was nine months pregnant when the mandatory quarantines started. I had to leave the house around 7 am to stand in line in the cold at Costco with hundreds of others until they opened at 10 am. It doesn't take much for people to stop being civil regarding their toiletries. I also remember the fires. Oh, yes, the fires. People were rushing to Costco and other stores to stock up on supplies.

2020 was a miserable year for everyone, and 2021 continued the trend of hopelessness and despair. Why not be better prepared so these events don't catch you off guard? Continue reading and learn how to create an emergency communications plan for you and your family.

Disaster Preparedness

Disastrous events aren't limited to hurricane zones, Tornado Alley, or areas near fault lines. They can happen anywhere, and they come in many forms. Their effects may include overloaded wireless communication systems, landline telephone outages, power outages, and damaged cell towers, to name a few. Service disruptions may last for extended periods, so your family needs a communication strategy in place. You can do a few simple things to significantly improve your chances of staying in touch if a catastrophic event occurs.

Review Your Contacts

Your family members should review their cell phone contacts. Doing so will ensure they have the correct information for emergency contacts, extended family members, and anyone else they may need to contact during a disaster. I recommend adding non-emergency numbers for local fire, police, and other emergency services agencies. These agencies may provide valuable information about escape routes, road closures, hazardous conditions, and more. You may also want to designate someone outside your area for your family members to contact to report their welfare and location and receive updates if they become separated or cannot communicate directly with one another.

Cell Phone Maintenance and Use

Because cell phones will be your most valuable communication tool during catastrophic events, keep portable charging banks for each device in case you lose access to other charging methods. Keep the power banks fully charged so they are ready if you need them.

In a disaster scenario, limit the number and duration of cell phone calls you make and ask your family members to do the same. This will not only reduce the load on communications infrastructure that may already be overburdened or damaged, but also conserve your battery.

Voice calls and emails sent via your cell phone require transferring much more data than text messages. If calls and emails aren't getting through, try texting. Also, phone calls made from a moving vehicle during a disaster may drop because of intermittent service coverage. Try pulling over and stopping where you have a strong signal. That may resolve the issue, and it is much safer if you're the driver and the situation is chaotic.

Additional Recommendations and Conclusion

These simple tips may yield significant benefits if disaster strikes, but effective communication strategies are only part of an excellent overall disaster preparedness plan. Store emergency food and water supplies, identify potential evacuation routes in advance, safeguard essential documents, and designate meet-up sites as part of your family's plan. What you include may depend on where you live and the disaster scenarios you're most likely to encounter. Many resources are available online and from local government emergency management offices to help you and your family prepare.

As always, we wrote this article so most people can relate. I hope you enjoyed this disaster preparedness article and, most importantly, that it helps you prepare for any disaster. Have a great day!