Using Technology to Your Advantage for Hurricane Preparation

It may be amusing to make fun of the new language of text or instant messaging, but did you ever stop to think how these and other technologies could benefit you in a weather emergency?

As a professional in electronic communication, it was my job to learn of the latest technologies and how to use them in the event of a hurricane. But now I know how to use these technologies to benefit me and my family.

Before a Storm

Use technology to help you prepare before a storm is even in sight. Consider using a digital camera or digital camcorder to document the condition of your house and all of your material possessions. Should your home be damaged or possessions destroyed during a storm, this record of items will be invaluable for filing an insurance claim.

Consider investing in a removeable hard drive to store pictures, videos or financial records. You can also purchase USB memory keys that are small and portable. These could contain photos or videos of your belongings and home, financial records or medical records for your family and/or pets.

Use a Yahoo! groups page or other social networking site to keep in touch. These national or international Web pages will still be available even during statewide or regional emergencies. Family members can check in via these pages, and you can provide them with updated contact information. This is, of course, assuming you are able to get to a location with Internet access. They are a good central point of contact in the event of an evacuation.

Use online photo storage to avoid losing priceless family photographs. I assisted in gutting and rebuilding homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and many families were distraught because framed photographs and scrapbooks were forever lost. By scanning and saving photos to Web sites like Shutterfly, Snapfish or Photo Bucket, you may lose printed versions, but you may easily reprint photos after the storm has passed.

Prepare a hurricane evacuation box that contains birth certificates, copies of driver licenses, check cards, credit cards and more. Also plan to have cash available. After Hurricane Katrina, with no power, it was near impossible to use ATMs or debit cards, and cash was a necessity.

After a Storm

Communication can be next to impossible after a storm. After Katrina in New Orleans, even landline phone service was inoperable. While cellular phone service for calls was nearly impossible to use, text messaging became a way to communicate. While the messages did not go through immediately, as they would under normal circumstances, they did eventually reach their recipients, sometimes only several hours later.

Have one point of contact in another region in the event of an evacuation. If you and your family are forced to evacuate, you may not have time or resources to contact family in other locations to tell them you are safe. Notify one family member or friend, who can then initiate a phone tree. This saves unnecessary worry for you and your family.