How to use your tech during an emergency

In this day and age where things like the weather and natural disasters have become increasingly unpredictable, it’s important to know how to face and prepare for these emergency situations. You’ll need to use all the tools you have at your disposal, including the pieces of technology that are always with you—your smartphones and/or tablets.

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The rise of smartphones and tablets and the features, tools, and technologies they give you access to can make handling emergency situations easier. They also give you ways to help out your fellow victims or other people around you in many different ways. We present a few ways on how you can use your technology during an emergency:

Save your juice

In an emergency situation, especially during the aftermath of a natural disaster, keeping your device up and running is incredibly important. That’s why minimizing battery drain should be one of your top priorities from the get-go. Turn off mobile data, Wi-Fi, automatic syncing, GPS, and everything else that may needlessly use up your device’s battery life. And make sure your device isn’t running any apps in the background that could drain your battery without you knowing. You can even go as far as completely switching off your device and only turning them on at certain times or when absolutely needed. Saving your device’s battery life will also help ensure that the line of communication between you and others as well as your own line to outside information stays open.

Keep in touch

During emergencies, communication is incredibly important. Whether with your family or with emergency services, keeping in touch with at least one person about your current status should be done regularly as, at times, it may be necessary for your survival. It’s also important to contact your loved ones to find out how they’re doing during the emergency. While constant communication isn’t always necessary and may even prove to be a detriment due to it draining too much of your device’s battery life, regular communication is still a must to keep you and other people aware and updated on each other’s situations. Not only will it help us and our loved ones stay calm, it will also help emergency personnel ascertain your current situation and provide help appropriately.

Let there be light

Your smartphone’s or tablet’s display, when set to its highest brightness setting coupled with a blank white image, is a great way to call attention to yourself at night or in dark environments. Use it to signal other people in the area or get the attention of emergency personnel if you’re in a situation where they can’t easily locate or see you. It must be said though that you must only do this when needed as keeping a device’s screen on, especially when set to its highest brightness setting, is one of the fastest ways to drain its battery. The LED flash beside your device’s rear camera, if it has one, may also be used for the same purpose. At times, this might be more effective and more battery efficient than the display. Your devices can become good and handy alternatives to more traditional light or signaling tools that you may not always have access to during an emergency situation.

A second set of eyes

Aside from using voice and text communication to relay your current situation to emergency personnel, you can also use your smartphone’s or tablet’s camera to take photos and send them to people that can use the visual information you provided to better ascertain the best plan of action for the situation. You can become an extra set of eyes for them. You can send photos of your surroundings or yourself if you’ve sustained any injuries, giving emergency personnel a proper grasp of the gravity of the situation so they may act accordingly and in the best manner.

Stay aware

With the advent of mobile data and the internet, you now have easy access to information on your smartphones and tablets. Having that access gives you the opportunity, especially during emergency situations, to keep yourself updated on what’s happening around you, including the status and operations of emergency services as well as other important information. Staying in the loop will help you stay calm and deal with the current situation. It’ll help you make the appropriate decisions for yourself. This must be done sparingly though as using mobile data on your smartphones and/or tablets can drain their battery quite quickly. You should know what information you’re looking for and how to quickly get it, whether through news websites or social media.

Famous last words

This last one is morbid and heavy but it’s a harsh reality that some people may have to face in their life. As much as we’d like to think that we’ll be able to walk away unscathed or uninjured from every emergency situation or disaster that we become a victim of, that may not always be the case. And if you’re caught in a situation where you may no longer have the chance to speak to anyone in person, having the opportunity to record a final message on your smartphone or your digital camera may be the best last thing you could do. It’s not just a form of closure for you; it’ll also serve as closure for your loved ones. You may also use it as an opportunity to give your last will and testament in case that’s something you haven’t prepared for beforehand. It’s an opportunity that many people in the past never had a chance to take but now with technology, you’re given the chance to provide yourself and your loved ones some closure.

There are sure to be many other ways, some more ingenious than others, to use the technology that you have with you at all times to help you in emergency situations. And there are also an infinite number of emergency situations you could possibly become a victim of. But, hopefully, this list has given you some good ways to use your smartphone, tablet, or other piece of handy technology to assist you if ever you do find yourself in an emergency.

While there’s the possibility you may never be faced with a serious or an extremely dangerous emergency situation, it’s always important to know ways you can deal with them. It’s best to prepare yourself and your tools for them. At the end of the day, technology serves as tools for you to use and you should use them in as many ways as you can, even and especially during emergencies.