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How to stay connected with Verizon
This post is sponsored by Verizon; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I cant believe that it has been a year since Harvey hit, and Houston was under water. I remember watching the news with Ahmad and having all types of emotions because there were so many families that had no home, and were in search of their family members. Staying connected during that time was so important because we all wanted to know that everyone was safe. I was of course concerned about my family, but was worried about my work family as well. I remember having a contact sheet printed out with all of my teams numbers because I wanted to make sure they were all okay! My parents kept calling me to make sure we were safe, and it was like you wanted to call and check on everyone you knew because they city was in a state of emergency. I’m the girl that never has her phone charged, but best believe it was charged during Harvey! The most beautiful thing I learned during that time is how STRONG Houston is, and the love that was shown during that time was nothing but amazing!
Since it is hurricane season, and we never know what may come our way, I’ve partnered with Verizon to highlight tips on how to stay connected during this season:
- Charge your devices before a storm hits, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, flashlights and radios. To preserve battery life, always dim the background light and turn off apps using data or Wi-Fi. As stated before, I am horrible at keeping my phone charged. At work the team always laugh at me because my phone is never charged, and I always have a charger with me at all times. This is the number one tip, because I need to follow it for sure.
- Create a list of emergency phone numbers and email addresses, including police, fire agencies; power companies; insurance providers; and family and friends. Program them into your phone – also ensure you have a hard copy. Last hurricane season we had a few days to prep before the storm actually hit, and one thing I made sure that I did was print out my associate list for work with their contact information. It was easy for me to check off their names one by one after I had spoken with them.
- Text, don’t call. When communicating during an emergency, opt for brief text messages rather than voice calls. Texts are likely to get through quicker in a crisis. My team and I had a group chat where we all stayed connected and let each other know we were safe. It was also fun to see what everyone was doing since we were all stuck in the house.
- Program your phone to receive emergency alerts. Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are free wireless notifications delivered to your mobile device as part of a public safety system. Believe me I know, the alerts get a little annoying when they go off in the middle of the night; but it is crucial to have during hurricane season so that you are aware of what is going on.
- Download important apps in advance. Some of our favorites include The Weather Channel, American Red Cross Hurricane app and AccuWeather app. The weather App is one of my favorite apps even to use on a daily so that I can plan out what I should wear for the day.
I hope these tips helped you as much as they have helped me! Its the little things sometimes that we forget about during a state of emergency. Thanks to Verizon for teaming up with me and sharing these helpful tips, and also special thank you for offering over 1.8 million customers FREE data for 20 days during Harvey so they could stay connected with their loved ones. I love working with brands that give back to the community and care!
1. Create a list of emergency numbers and contacts
2. Text instead of calling (text send faster)
3. Program your phone to receive emergency alerts
Alright Houston Strong… let’s stay prepared!
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