Communicating With Loved Ones After a Disaster

If Seattle experiences a strong earthquake or other significant event, everyone will be on their phones trying to communicate.  Circuits will be overloaded.  It’s also likely that cell phone towers will be damaged and power will go down.  

Reaching loved ones could be very difficult.  

Communicating after a disaster:

1.  Text your household members after a large disaster; it’s more likely a text will get thru than a phone call.

2.  It’s sometimes easier to get a text out of the city than across the city.  Designate a trusted person who lives east of Spokane or further away to be your Out-Of-Area Contact (OOAC).  (Avoid those along the west coast; they may be involved in the same disaster if it is widespread enough).

3.  When you text household members, include your OOAC on the group text.

4.  If it looks like household members aren’t receiving texts, your OOAC can forward your text to household members in the disaster zone.  They can also contact loved ones directly after they have heard from you and post your status on social media.

5. Downloading the Zello communication app might also be helpful.