Are you tech ready?

Image source: TPM

During the days leading up to the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, most of us have heeded the suggestions of storing enough water, candles, batteries, food, etc. in order to survive the storm. But another element to take into consideration is being “tech ready.” FEMA has a whole page devoted to this truly 21st century task.

Through the use of everyday technology, individuals, families, responders and organizations can successfully prepare for, adapt to and recover from disruptions brought on by emergencies and/or disasters. With effective planning, it is possible to take advantage of technology before, during and after a crisis to communicate with loved ones and manage your financial affairs.

Here are a few select tips from the FEMA page – they may be no-brainers for some, but great reminders for others:

• Keep your contacts updated across all of your channels, including phone, email and social media. This will make it easy to reach out to the right people quickly to get information and supply updates. Consider creating a group list serve of your top contacts.
• Learn how to send updates via text and internet from your mobile phone to your contacts and social channels in case voice communications are not available. Text messages and the internet often have the ability to work in the event of a phone service disruption.
• If you are evacuated and have call-forwarding on your home phone, forward your home phone number to your cell phone number.

Check out the FEMA page for more tips on how to be tech ready, especially during this storm.

Get Tech Ready [FEMA]
Hurricane Sandy is coming to Queens (and beyond) [QNYC]
Queens hurricane evacuation centers [QNYC]