Unless you live under a rock, you know that Hurricane Irene, 645 miles south of Cape Hatteras as I write this newsletter, is less than a day away from initiating a devastating blow to a large section of the East Coast. The risk to much of the eastern seaboard has grown larger as computer models have nudged its track westward, closer to the coast, if not slightly inland.

   PREPARE FOR THE HURRICANE NOW! It's not too late to take precautions.

 

   PRE-HURRICANE PROCEDURES FOR CELL PHONES: (as quoted

from the manual below) 

                         

In preparation for a storm, it is important to fully charge your cell phone in case there is a loss of municipal power.

 

Suggestions for maintaining a battery charge in order to stay connected via cell service are:

 

1. Make sure that you have a car charger for your phone. If you use your car when municipal power is out - be sure to charge up your phone(s) while it is running.

 

2. Families that have multiple phones should consider leaving most of their phones off, and using the devices one after the other as batteries are used.

 

3. If you have old AT&T phones in your home charge them as well. Your SIM card can always be moved to another phone if your primary phone should die.

 

4.    Turn off your cell phone when not needed in order to prolong battery life.

 

5.    Remember to limit the number of services running on a Blackberry phone if they are not needed. Shut off the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS antennas if those are running on your phone but are not needed. These all decrease batterylife. 6. Consider buying a commercial battery booster for your cell phone. These

products are typically found at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Lowes, or Home Depot.

 

During times of heavy cellular call traffic after a storm it is often easier to send text messages her rather than placing calls. As long as the cell tower you are connected to is operational text messages will often go through when it is not possible to make a voice call. Keep in mind that there may be a delay in delivery of messages and receipt of incoming messages. Blackberry phones can also send PIN messages to one another. These messages have the same general benefits as text messaging, but do not have restrictions on message length. It is important to add the PIN numbers of other Blackberry users to their contact information in your Blackberry in advance of a storm. The PIN number for a Blackberry can be found by going to the Settings, Options, Status menu options.

 

Read The HURRICANE PROCEDURES MANUAL FOR TECHNOLOGY 

note: the manual is long and may take a minute to load.

 

     This storm is a major meteorological event, and nerves are frayed.

It's important to remain as calm as possible, and explain to children about the approaching hurricane.  You may want to your children to   WATCH THIS VIDEO ON YOU-TUBE TO SEE HOW HURRICANES ARE FORMED.   

 

 

  NEED TO SEARCH FOR A LOCAL RED CROSS SHELTER? The site

is updated every 30  minutes.  You can make a donation by following this link.  

 

   In signing off, I urge you, Dear Readers, to take whatever precautions you can to prepare for this storm. And as always, be well, be safe, be organized.  xxx's,

 

Nancy