Severe weather makes corded house phones a necessity.
The prominence of cellular phones and wireless communication devices have not rendered the house phone obsolete. These land-line devices become critical when inclement weather, such as severe thunderstorms, hurricanes and winter storms, result in power outages. In many cases, land-line phones will function during power disruptions caused by severe weather. With a house phone, you can receive severe weather alerts, report outages or weather-related damage, contact 911 for emergencies and assure your family and friends of your safety and whereabouts.
Instructions
Prepare for Bad Weather
1. Corded telephone
Obtain or retrieve a wired or corded telephone. Such a phone will have a wire or cord connecting the handset to the base and a wire from the base to a wall jack. Cordless phones will not work during power outages.
2. Subscribe to a service that delivers severe weather advisories to your telephone. WeatherCall provides telephone alerts based upon matching a subscriber's physical address with the location of an area under a warning issued by the National Weather Service. Go to WeatherCall's website or contact your local television station to learn if it participates with WeatherCall. Contact your local government to determine if it offers free weather alerts.
3. Write or print a list of contact numbers for your local utility companies, law enforcement or emergency management agencies, family, friends, employers and hospital and others you might want to contact. Place the list next to your house phone.
Using the Phone During Bad Weather
4. Telephone cords
Install one or more house phones, especially in the bedroom and living rooms, when a severe weather watch is issued for your area. Insert the male ends of the telephone jack into the wall outlet and base of the phone.
5. Take cover if a tornado warning is issued.
Take immediate action based upon the type of warning issued. Go to a basement or interior area of your home for tornado warnings. Evacuate your home if your local authorities so advise.
6. Limit your use of the house phone. Call 911 if you or someone in your family needs immediate medical attention. Report outages to your power company. leaks or the smell of gas immediately to your natural gas company and severe weather or damage reports to law enforcement. Inform your family, friends and employers or business associates of your condition and location. Otherwise, avoid non-emergency or social calls since family, friends or employers may attempt to call you.
