Published: September 14, 2026
Make a Plan to be Tech Ready
Technology has made it easier than ever to prepare for emergencies, but it can be unreliable in disasters if you haven’t kept your gadgets protected and powered up. Cell phones have not only become our primary communications lifeline but our stored phone books, means for financial transactions and way we access critical news or information. Here are some tips to make sure you are tech ready:
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Use text messages, social media and email to connect with friends and family during emergencies.
- Mobile networks can become overwhelmed during emergencies, making it hard to make and get phone calls. Text messages require less bandwidth, which means they are able to be transmitted more reliably during situations when many people are trying to use their mobile phones at the same time.
- Turn-on Wi-Fi calling if the cell towers are jammed but your internet is working.
- Have an emergency contact who lives in another state. Local circuits in the area of the emergency jam first, so having a point of contact not affected gives your family another way to check-in and share information.
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Have an emergency charging option for your phone and other mobile devices. Smartphones have become a vital tool to get emergency alerts and warnings so it’s important to make sure you can keep them powered up in an emergency.
- At home: Prior to severe weather make sure that all of your electronic devices are fully charged. If the power goes out save battery power by minimizing device use. Keep a back-up power source on hand.
- In your car: Keep a portable phone charger in your car at all times.
- Consider purchasing a back-up power supply to keep with you as well.
- Change the settings on your phone to low power mode or place it on airplane mode to conserve energy.
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Store important documents on a secure, password-protected jump drive or in the cloud.
- There are several apps for mobile devices that let you use your phone’s camera as a scanning device. This lets you capture electronic versions of important documents such as insurance policies, identification documents and medical records. Don’t forget to include your pet’s information.
- Back-up your computer to protect photos and other important electronic documents.
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Have a written Family Emergency Communication Plan
- As a back-up to all electronic devices, have a written list of contact information and keep copies of it in safe places, such as a purse, a briefcase, in the car, in your office, in your children’s backpacks and in your disaster kit. Don’t forget to update it at least annually.
- Downloadable Communication Plans can be found at ready.gov
https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/family-communication-plan_fillable-card.pdf
and one for kids at https://www.ready.gov.gov /sites/default/files/2020-03/ready_family-communications-plan_kids.pdf
