Best Ways to Reach Your Friends When Disaster Strikes

Do you watch the weather and check on your ministry partners, friends, and family?

Tornadoes touched down in the Florida Panhandle yesterday. Some of our ministry partners live in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The University of Michigan has a map of tornado activity for the past 48 hours only. I checked the site. I saw that the tornado hit Panama City on the other side of the bay from our friends.

I emailed them and texted them to make sure they were okay.

Use the following guidelines to reach people.

Social Media

Go to your friend’s Facebook profile. They might post that they’re safe on the Facebook Safety Check service. (Follow this link to learn more ways to use this service.)

Text and Emails

Both email and texts can travel over the Internet or from cell tower to cell tower. This gives you more options to get through.

Keep them short and with no images. These small data files can slip through congestion.

Phone calls

It’s best to leave networks open for first responders.

If a cell tower is down, you may have to wait until you can reach your friends.

If your friend has a landline you might get through. Again, it depends on the local damage.

If you do call, keep the conversation short.

Internet Options

Your friend may have Wi-Fi. You might have options like VoIP, Skype, Google Meet, etc.

Word-of-Mouth

If you can’t reach your friend, do you know someone who would be in touch with them that you can contact?

NOTES:

• Sources for this article. Read them for more information:
  • Top 10 Communication Methods in a Disaster Setting (Adjusters International)
  • How to Get in Touch With Loved Ones During a Disaster (Wired)
• I wrote an extensive post on Online Disaster-tracking Tools to help you find information about the latest natural disaster.
• Also, see this FCC article if YOU are in the eye of the storm.; FCC and FEMA: How to Communicate Before, During and After a Major Disaster. Topics are:
  • Before a Disaster: How to Prepare Your Home and Mobile Device
  • During and After a Disaster: How to Reach Friends, Loved Ones & Emergency Services
• Photo by NOAA on Unsplash