GIS user technology news

Mobile, Technology, and Business news

  • PRESS
    • Submit PR
    • Top Press
    • Business
    • Software
    • Hardware
    • UAV News
    • Mobile Technology
  • FEATURES
    • Around the Web
    • Social Media Features
    • EXPERTS & Guests
    • Tips
    • Infographics
  • Events
  • CAREERS
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Meet the Editor
    • Submit Press
  • Shop
  • Tradepubs
  • facebook
  • Around the Web
You are here: Home / News / Public Safety and Emergency Response / Ready For Hurricane Season – AT&T FamilyMap can help you seek evacuation routes

Ready For Hurricane Season – AT&T FamilyMap can help you seek evacuation routes

June 2, 2014 By Editor

Disaster response program, certified by Homeland Security, designed to keep customers connected

AT&T’s Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) program, as the first private company certified by the Department of Homeland Security for private-company voluntary disaster preparedness, is committed to maintaining and restoring the AT&T Global network when natural disasters strike.

Despite predictions, we never know when the next tropical storm or hurricane will impact the coastline. With $600 million invested in the NDR program, AT&T’s arsenal of equipment includes more than 320 technology and equipment trailers that can be quickly deployed, making it one of the nation’s largest and most advanced disaster programs.

“Staying connected during severe weather events is critically important to consumers, businesses and our emergency management officials,” said Fred McCallum, president, AT&T Alabama. “That’s why AT&T invests a tremendous amount of resources in our network reliability and disaster response capabilities.”

The Network Disaster Recovery team works closely with other AT&T response teams, local AT&T network personnel, regional Emergency Operations Centers and Local Response Centers to fortify network facilities and equipment, and stage technicians and resources near the storm impact area. In the event of damage, teams are poised to restore and maintain service until permanent repairs can be made.

AT&T also conducts readiness drills and simulations throughout the year to ensure our networks are prepared and our personnel are ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Since its inception in 1991, the NDR has responded to more than 20 catastrophes across the U.S.

Response equipment readied in the wake of an event includes:

  • Mobile cell sites and mobile command centers
  • Emergency communications vehicles
  • A self-sufficient base camp, complete with sleeping tents, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities, on-site nurse and meals ready to eat (MREs)
  • Hazmat equipment and supplies
  • Technology and support trailers to provide infrastructure support and mobile heating ventilation and air conditioning
  • Internal and external resources for initial assessment and recovery efforts.

As we prepare, so should you.

Consumers and businesses also should have a plan in place. When preparing for an evacuation or shelter-in-place, remember these tips:

  • Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. In case of a power outage, have alternate means of charging your phone available, such as an extra battery, car charger or device-charging accessory. Sales tax holidays are a great time to stock up on cell phone accessories for your household.
  • Keep your wireless phone dry. The biggest threat to your device during a hurricane is water, so keep your equipment safe from the elements by storing it in a baggie or some other type of protective covering, such as an Otterbox phone cover.
  • Have a family communication plan in place. Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain that all family members know who to contact if they get separated. Most importantly, practice your emergency plan in advance.
  • Forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. Because call forwarding is based out of the telephone central office, you will get incoming calls from your landline phone even if your local telephone service is disrupted at your home. In the unlikely event that the central office is not operational, services such as Voicemail, Call Forwarding, Remote Access call forwarding and call forwarding busy line/don’t answer may be useful.
  • Track the storm and access weather information on your wireless device. Many homes lose power during severe weather. If you have a working wireless device that provides access to the Internet, you can watch weather reports through services like AT&T U-verse Live TV or keep updated with local radar and severe weather alerts through My-Cast® Weather, if you subscribe to those services.
  • Take advantage of location-based mapping technology.  Services such as AT&T Navigator and AT&T FamilyMap can help you seek evacuation routes or avoid traffic congestion from downed trees or power lines, as well as track a family member’s wireless device in case you get separated.

Keeping the lines open for emergencies

During evacuations, the storm event and its aftermath, network resources will be taxed. To help ensure that emergency personnel have open lines, keep these tips in mind:

  • Text messaging. During an emergency situation, text messages may go through more quickly than voice calls because they require fewer network resources. All of AT&T’s wireless devices are text messaging capable. Depending on your text or data plan, additional charges may apply.
  • Be prepared for high call volume. During an emergency, many people are trying to use their phones at the same time. The increased calling volume may create network congestion, leading to “fast busy” signals on your wireless phone or a slow dial tone on your landline phone. If this happens, hang up, wait several seconds and then try the call again. This allows your original call data to clear the network before you try again.
  • Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum, and limit your calls to the most important ones. If there is severe weather, chances are many people will be attempting to place calls to loved ones, friends and business associates.

Small Business Tips:

  • Set up a call-forwarding service to a predetermined backup location. Set up a single or multiple hotline number(s) for employees, employees’ families, customers and partners, as appropriate, to call so that all parties know about the business situation and emergency plan.
  • Back up data to the Cloud. Routinely back up files to an off-site location. Services such as Mobile Workplace are a suggested solution for small businesses.
  • Outline detailed plans for evacuation and shelter-in-place plans. Practice these plans (employee training, etc.). Establish a backup location for your business and meeting place for all employees.
  • Assemble a crisis-management team and coordinate efforts with neighboring businesses and building management. Be aware that disasters affecting your suppliers also affect your business. Outline a plan for supply chain continuity for business essentials.
  • Consider a back-up cellular network. Services like AT&T Remote Mobility Zone, allows organizations to protect their critical communications by installing small cell sites at the businesses’ locations.  If a disaster disables primary communications networks, the back-up cellular network can help keep your company connected.

Additional information and tips for disaster preparedness can be found at www.att.com/vitalconnections.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Public Safety and Emergency Response Tagged With: News, Public Safety and Emergency Response, Ready For Hurricane Season – AT&T FamilyMap can help you seek evacuation routes






Editor’s Picks

Using Lidar to Classify Landslides

Using Lidar to Classify Landslides

Prestigious Award Win For Local Crowd Funded Start Up Business

Esri Launches New Site to Find Open Data

AutoCAD for Mac 2015 and AutoCAD LT for Mac 2015 Now Available

See More Editor's Picks...

About Editor

Glenn is a geographer and a GIS professional with over 20 years experience in the industry. He's the co-founder of GISuser and several other technology web publications.


GIS jobs





Recent Features

Photographer Touch Reveal the Top Cameras, Lenses, and Photo Editing Tools of 2022

Digitalization and Simulation at the North Pole

Natural Gas District & GIS-Centric Asset Management

5 Ways Technology Is Affecting The Sharing Economy

Spotlight – Township Canada: Explore Canadian Legal Land Descriptions on a Map

More Posts from this Category




Post your link here!

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Will AI be the future of digital entertainment?
  • 5 Common Mistakes with Designing an Infographic and How to Avoid Them
  • How You Can Use Technology to Make Online Deliveries Easier
  • Choosing the Right Mobile Phone in Nigeria
  • The Soaring Popularity of Online Gaming

RSS Career Tips

  • Four Characteristics of the Best Virtual Employees
  • 28 Tools to Conquer the Social Media Recruiting World
  • 8 Questions Employers Should Ask About Coronavirus
  • Jobcase Launches Free Unemployment Resource Center for Workers Impacted by COVID-19
  • Must-Have Gadgets and Technology for the Remote Office Worker


shop for geogeek swag






RSS Tech pubs

  • How Connected Work Improves Quality Management in Manufacturing
  • Case Study: Global Brewery Boosts Accountability with Connected Worker Software
  • The Ultimate Guide to Digital Work Instructions

RSS Computers

  • How the Cloud is Reshaping Virtual Desktops
  • Millennials as Brand Advocates - New Research Study Results
  • Vehicles Best Practices Installation Guide

RSS HR Tips

  • How Connected Work Improves Quality Management in Manufacturing
  • The Essentials of HR and Talent Management - 2023 Kit
  • The Human Resources Management Kit - 2023 Kit

RSS Gov Tech

  • The State of the CDP 2023
  • State of the CDP 2023
  • Read: 2023 State of the CDP

RSS UAV news

  • Liverpool welcomes Eurovision with record-breaking drone show by Celestial and Drone show Technology
  • Esri Partner Pollen Systems Provides Advanced Agriculture Analytics to Farms using PrecisionView™ Mobile
  • Draganfly Fulfills Delivery of First Situational Assessment Drone for DSNS Emergency Services Department Ukraine

RSS Geojobs

  • IT Endpoint Technician
  • Systems Administrator
  • Senior Systems Administrator
Copyright gletham Communications 2011-2022

Go to mobile version