Utilizing Your Smartphone as an Emergency Preparedness Resource

An emergency kit is an essential tool when it comes to emergency preparedness. While a traditional emergency kit may consist of bandaids, ibuprofen, and disinfectant, it’s important to modernize your kit to ensure your phone can also be used as a tool.

• Back-Up Battery: In case an emergency leaves you homeless, it’s important to keep spare phone batteries in your emergency kit. This way, you are not scrambling to find a power source.
• Portable Charger: If you don’t have a car charger, portable chargers and power stations can be useful, particularly if you need to drive long distances to safety.
• Signal Booster: A signal booster helps improve cell phone reception with the help of an exterior antenna, amplifier, and interior antenna. An increase in call volume during a disaster can mean whole geographic regions might experience a loss of functionality in the network. A signal booster can help you send calls and messages to loved ones.
• SmartHome Battery: Power outages can cause items like smart home devices to malfunction. A smarthub battery can maintain voice call functionality inside your home.
• Waterproof Case: In the case of flooding or heavy rain, it’s important to keep your phone dry and away from water so it functions properly. Waterproof phone cases can help prevent water damage.
• Waterproof Phone: Water-resistant phones are relatively common nowadays, and can help prevent water damage in a flood, a rainstorm, or even damage from dropping it in a puddle.

Emergency contacts are especially important in natural disasters. If you are hurt or injured, having these numbers in your phone can help notify loved ones of where you are. Immediate emergency contacts usually consist of friends and family, but they should also extend to local first responders. In case you or a family member are stuck, you can easily notify first responders to your location to get help as soon as possible. Some examples of emergency contacts are:

• Family and friends;
• The fire department;
• Hospitals;
• Landlords and property managers;
• Local utility providers (in case water or gas needs to be shut off);
• The police department;
• Schools;
• And a veterinary hospital.

You can mark these numbers as emergency contacts in your phone so they stand out in your contact list. This could help hospitals, police, or other samaritans find and notify your loved ones in case you’re unable to yourself. Smartphones also allow for voice commands so people can call or text without physically touching the phone.

During an emergency, it’s important to stay informed of new developments and safety procedures. Luckily, smartphones are connected to cellular data, which can be used instead of Wi-Fi to look at mobile sites. To keep up-to-date, you can bookmark important sites to keep them handy.

To bookmark a mobile site on an iPhone, you’ll first open your internet browser app. Then, you’ll type in either the name of the site or the URL in the search bar — both options should take you to the same end destination. Once you are on the homepage of the site, click the book icon at the bottom of your screen. This will lead you to your bookmark files. Here, you can create a folder for all your emergency preparedness sites.

To bookmark a site on an Android phone, open your internet browser. Once you have navigated to the desired page, click the “Menu” button, then the “Add Bookmark” button. Then, you can create a specific folder for your emergency preparedness sites.

Examples of emergency preparedness sites are:

• Center for Disease Control (CDC): The CDC can alert you to recent outbreaks and incidents, and provides tips on emergency preparedness.
• eHow or wikiHow: Both sites provide detailed instructions on a variety of different topics, including those pertaining to emergency preparedness.
• FEMA: The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides tips and instructions on how to prepare for disasters, what to do during a disaster, and how to handle the aftermath.
• The National Weather Service: This site provides weather data for the whole country and provides early warnings of weather-related disasters.

Storing important documents in a safe place can be crucial in the aftermath of a disaster. For instance, if your home was destroyed by a flood, you’ll need your flood insurance account number, your agent's number, and other important information to file a claim. If that information is gone, it could be hard to verify your account with the insurance company.

Having this information on your phone can prove to be convenient — and it is easy to save documents on your device. Mobile phones are built with advanced cameras, creating clear, crisp pictures that can prove useful in emergencies. However, some phones and apps can also scan documents, which helps create precise images of important documents.

To create scans on an iPhone, click on the Notes app and create a new note. Then, click the camera button near the keyboard and select “Scan Documents.” You can now scan any document and it will be stored on your phone.

To create scans on an Android phone, you will first have to download the Google Drive app. This app can hold many pictures, documents, and videos at once and is secure, making it a prime choice for storing important documents. After opening the Google Drive app, you can create a folder for your scanned documents. Once you are in the scanned documents folder, click the blue plus sign button in the lower right corner. Select “Scan,” take a picture of your document, and save it in the folder.

Important documents to save in your phone include:

• Birth certificates;
• Social security cards;
• Insurance information;
• Passports;
• Driver’s licenses;
• Marriage license;
• Wills;
• Health insurance cards;
• List of medications and allergies;
• Mortgage or real estate deeds;
• Vehicle registration papers;
• And first aid instructions.

Many disaster preparedness organizations have developed their own apps to easily and instantly provide information. With the help of these apps, users can now be notified of incoming weather reports, emergency events, and more via their mobile devices. With the popularity of these apps increasing, smartphone users are realizing how beneficial they can be.

The most common emergency preparedness apps include:

• Disaster Alert: This app will alert you in real-time about global disasters and offers real-time updates.
• MyRadar: This app will give you in-depth weather reports including high-definition radar, temperatures, and hurricane trackers.
• American Red Cross Apps: The American Red Cross offers four apps mainly pertaining to first aid knowledge, bloodwork notifications, and pet first aid.
• Zello: This app is a two-way walkie talkie app that uses cellular data or Wi-Fi to work. You can connect to friends, family, first responders, and others to convey urgent messages that could be misread over text messaging.
• LINE Messenger: LINE allows you to send and receive free calls, video chats, and text messages to friends and family, including international calls.
• Nextdoor: This app connects you with people living in your neighborhood and acts as a virtual neighborhood watch. You can also exchange news, goods and services, and connect to local agencies.
• Red Panic Button: This widget sits on your lock screen and calls emergency services once pushed while sending your location and text messages to your emergency contacts.
• SirenGPS: This app provides emergency services to your exact location and caller profile. It can also connect you with everyone else in the community and each person can create a unique profile detailing any allergies, health conditions, or emergency contacts.
• GasBuddy: With this app, you’ll be able to locate the nearest working gas pump as well as compare prices in a town.
• Life360: This app can track your location and automatically send texts to your friends and family so they won’t get worried.

Conserving your phone battery is one of the most important tasks, especially if you don’t have a charger nearby. Calling, video chatting, and even connecting to Wi-Fi can drain your battery faster than you’d like. However, there are ways to save battery life that can be especially helpful in dire situations:

• Switch to Airplane Mode: When your phone is in Airplane Mode, you won’t receive calls, text messages, or any notifications. This is because your phone will stop communicating with the cellular network, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. Without being connected to those, your phone can save a lot of battery life. It’s best to utilize this feature after you’ve made contact with everyone and have told them your plans.
• Activate Battery-Saving Mode: Battery-saving mode restricts mobile data until the next charge. This means that while you could still receive calls, you might not receive app notifications. If you are not watching for updates, this feature can be used all day to ensure you save battery.
• Turn Down Your Brightness: A higher screen brightness takes more battery to maintain. By turning it down, you could save a bit of battery without disrupting your mobile data.
• Turn Off Automatic Updating: If your phone’s auto-update feature is turned on, your phone is constantly looking for apps to update and download. This requires a certain amount of battery life, and if you have multiple apps that need updates, it could severely drain your battery. By turning this feature off, you can choose which apps you’d like to update, saving time and battery life.
• Utilize “Do Not Disturb” Function: This function stops calls, text messages, and other notifications when turned on. It will even send an automatic message, which you can customize, to the person who’s trying to get a hold of you.
• Turn Off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Location Services: When you have all of these features turned on, your phone is constantly searching for Wi-Fi networks, for other Bluetooth devices to connect to, and for GPS satellites to confirm your location. By turning these features off, you can save a lot of battery life.
• Turn Off Your Phone: Turning off your phone during downtime can significantly save battery. However, it’s important to let your friends and family know the times you plan to turn your phone off so they don’t worry.

You’ve often heard “SMS text” and “text messaging” used synonymously; however, there are differences between the two. SMS stands for short message service, and consists of text messages that are 160 characters or less. Text messages can also consist of MMS, or multimedia messaging. These texts are messages composed of videos, pictures, audio files, and are greater than 160 characters.

While both types of text messages are sent over a cellular network, the major difference between the two is that MMS uses more cellular data to send. During a disaster, when the cell networks are clogged with calls, it could be hard to send an MMS. It’s important to stick to SMS so you have a greater chance of reaching loved ones.

Additionally, you can use Wi-Fi messaging and calling. With this feature, you can make calls and send texts over an internet connection. Since you are not using cellular data and as long as you are connected to Wi-Fi, you can make calls, video chats, and send texts, often without any delay.

If you are unable to access Wi-Fi, you could utilize a mobile hotspot. Hotspots let you share your network connection with other devices so they can access the internet. However, these hotspots need to access either 4G or 3G service.

Caching is the process of saving data temporarily so the next time you visit the site, the browser doesn’t have to download the page again. Things like pictures and files are automatically stored on your phone to help speed up the internet browsing process. This could be handy if cellular service becomes spotty or is unavailable.

For example, if you need instructions on a first aid emergency, and you need to navigate away from that page, it should still be loaded if you have caching on. In theory, you should be able to access that page’s information because it is already loaded and your phone remembers it.

Social media has proven to be a big help in emergency events. Many people have researched how to effectively use social media in natural disasters for both citizens and first responders. Even the Department of Homeland Security has established a social media plan for emergency management.

In 2017, when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and Louisiana, social media played a big role for those seeking help. While the telecommunication networks were overloaded with calls to emergency personnel, social media became the go-to tool in the hurricane’s aftermath. Many used Facebook and Twitter to find loved ones, shelters, and safe routes out of town. Many even used it to contact first responders who they couldn’t get through to using the phone lines.

In any event (natural disaster, school shooting, bombing, etc.), news outlets, government officials, and community members are posting and updating information on social media. There are two resources you can utilize during an emergency:

Live Updates on Twitter:

• Profiles: You can stay up-to-date on new by following news outlets on Twitter, as well as profiles like Breaking News. By following these profiles, you can be notified of new information instantly.
• Hashtags: Additionally, you can follow hashtags by typing them into the Twitter search bar and pressing the “follow” button.
• Mentions: Following mentions of certain news outlets or people will ensure you get every update from many different sources.

Safety Check on Facebook: In an emergency event, Facebook automatically provides a safety check for communities around the disaster area. If a certain number of people are posting about the incident, Facebook Safety Check will activate and those in the affected area can mark themselves “safe.” This will update your profile with the message “marked safe” and will notify your Facebook followers.

Your phone comes with built-in tools that are already useful in emergency situations. These can be especially beneficial in situations where you don’t have access to cellular data or Wi-Fi and therefore can’t download apps from the app store. Some built-in apps to keep in mind include:

• Clock, Timer, Alarm: These features can help you keep a consistent schedule if the power goes out. The timer, in particular, can help you keep track of storms. For instance, if there is a thunderstorm, you can use your timer to track how long the pauses are between the thunder and lightning, and that can give you an approximate location of the storm.
• Compass: The compass can come in handy if you do not have GPS or a map, but you know which direction you need to go.
• Emergency SOS/Send SOS Messages: Most phones have an SOS feature built in for safety — depending on which phone you have, there are different ways to access it.
  • For iPhones, users can press the “wake/sleep” button on the side of the phone five times repeatedly. Newer models will need to hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the SOS Emergency slider appears. This will start a countdown to call emergency services. The phone will also send first responders your exact location.
  • For Android phones, users first must make sure that the ability to send SOS messages is turned on in Settings. Then, you can input four emergency contacts to receive your messages. By pressing the power button three times in a row, your phone will send messages to these contacts as well as your location.
• Flashlight: Every phone emits a bright flashlight that is ready to use if the power goes out. However, it’s important to be aware that the flashlight app can drain your phone’s battery rather quickly.
• GPS: You can use GPS to get to shelters, find loved ones, or share your location with others.
• Location Services: This feature can help first responders quickly find you during an emergency.
• Medical ID: This feature tells first responders if you have any allergies to medicines, what medications you are on, and what your blood type is.

Once in a while, you might receive an alert on your phone that is not associated with an app, call, or text message. These are called wireless emergency alerts (WEA), which are sent by authorized government agencies. These alerts are sent to spread important information as quickly as possible. There are different types of alerts, including:

• Imminent threat alerts that include extreme weather and other emergencies;
• Public safety alerts which are less severe than imminent threats;
• AMBER alerts in the case of missing children;
• Presidential alerts;
• And test alerts through text messaging.

Most phones are compatible with WEAs, so when there is an emergency, you can expect to receive one. It will look like a text message and will provide actions to take should you need to. WEA messages have a special tone and vibration so you can differentiate it from other notifications. If you do receive a WEA, be sure to read all instructions and follow actions advised by the message.

Incorporating your phone in your disaster preparedness plan can help your recovery efforts in the aftermath of a crisis. While the most obvious benefit of phones is the ability to call friends and family, there are other tools and apps that can be useful in times of need. By outfitting your phone for disaster, you can be better prepared for emergencies.