(Editors Note: Due to emergency situations throughout the State of Oklahoma
this article applies to help all cell phone users in any emergency.)
The recent fires in the Oklahoma Panhandle have caused many of us to sit back and evaluate a “plan-of-action” should we need to evacuate in the future. While we all pray it won’t be necessary again, we need to stop and think about communication in times of emergency.
Many area residents who live in the evacuated areas weren’t able to place or receive cellular phone calls during the emergency situation in Guymon this past April. Evacuees were trying to make calls, as were their friends and families trying to contact them. It’s human nature…we want to know if everyone is okay.
But what happened to communication was unavoidable due to the massive number of calls placed on the network. “Busy Circuits” and “Your Call Can’t Go Through” messages were common, frustrating callers beyond measure. Emergency agencies were utilizing the network as they worked to get control of the situation, while residents were desperately trying to reach loved ones.
Next time an incident like this happens and your cell call won’t go through, try sending a text message. Text messages don’t use the same bandwidth that voice calls do; so many times they’ll go through. There’s no guarantee in an emergency situation that your text message will be delivered, but a text message has a much better shot at making it through than a voice call does.
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