We live in a connected society, and in normal times getting phone calls and texts from relatives and friends is welcomed with joy. But while you are handling an emergency, the last thing you need is to have the phone tied up with calls and texts of far-away people who are checking on your status.
To solve that problem, first decide on an out-of-state, central contact who will be notified as soon as possible when a natural disaster or some other emergency happens in your neighborhood.
This is an excellent video which covers Family Emergency Preparedness Tools including Out-of-State Contacts. It also shows how to create a written record in case phones are unusable.
Thanks to National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for the YouTube video
Grandpa TJ: Click on the General Store link below to get a free copy of the Family Emergency Playbook or the Rapid Response Cards mentioned in the NCMEC video above. They are in PDF format so that you can print out as many copies as you need. I recommend that every member of your family who has a mobile phone or drives a car have a copy. You may also wish to provide either of these tools to a trusted resource if your small children are in daycare.