With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the East Coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency took to Twitter with a bit of sound advice: Use text messages or social networks to communicate. This will reduce congestion on mobile networks, allowing for better communication for everyone in the path of Frankenstorm.
Hurricane Sandy is likely going to wreak hell on several states. There is expected to be widespread flooding and wind damage. Despite the best efforts by carriers and utility companies, wireless networks will be affected. Don’t be selfish with your phone use.
The idea behind FEMA’s plan is sound. Voice calls consume significantly more bandwidth than text messages or data usage. It’s very important to communicate but your mom does not need a play-by-play of the action. Tune to The Weather Channel for that. Text messages and social networks are well-suited to handle the simple message of “My building survived. I’m fine. Going to the bar. #freetebow”
The Internet has banded together and published a number of resources to help manage communication and disaster relief.
Twitter has also thrown out some helpful tips and resources, which you can find here.