Protecting Tech During Storms

2/26/2021 (Permalink)

WE know the drill – the tornado sirens go off and we head to our basements to protect ourselves.

A basic human instinct, unchanged throughout time, to search out and seek the safest refuge until the storm literally passes.

While caves have been replaced with basements, we also have other tools at our disposal to help us through harsh weather which can aid us in many ways.

First is protection of our property – if we have enough warning, we will seek to weatherproof our houses with boarded windows and move furniture and possessions to higher levels of our homes to protect against the risk of flood.

But what about our intellectual property? Our data on our computers and our passwords for bank accounts and insurance policies? Make use of modern technology and ensure your valuable data is backed up to a cloud service so it can be fully retrieved even if your computer and hard drive are destroyed.

As you head to the basement with food and water, make sure you grab your smartphone or tablet. This can be a literal lifeline to the outside world during – and after – a storm. Make sure your phone is fully charged and resist the temptation to pass the hours idly scrolling social media or watching a film – you may need that battery power and given the weather you should not rely on your power staying on. In fact, stay away from anything plugged into the electrical supply.

Invest in some cheap battery charging backs and keep them in your storm cellar along with bottled water -they could provide any top ups to your battery you need.

And there are a range of useful apps – but download them well before any storm to save battery power. Put your phone into a power saving mode as well so it lasts as long as possible.

Apps you may want to download include: Zello, which turns your phone into an old-fashioned walkie talkie to connect to emergency services in an old school tried-and-tested manner; Nextdoor, which uses your GPS to connect you with people nearby; and WeatherPlus, to get the latest updates on the storm progression. Add in your local television station for up-to-the-minute news and updates about the storm.

And if you must evacuate your home for the storm’s duration, the recent innovations in home security can help you keep a literal eye on your property. 

There are now dozens of smart internet-connected devices available such as door cameras that people use to protect their homes from intruders – but the same devices can give you the reassurance your home is ok as you can literally get a live feed to your phone or tablet to see the storm’s progression. Other devices include water sensors, motion sensors, remote cameras, door lock sensors and smoke detectors all of which can feed you real time information and offer push alerts if they are triggered. In these cases, no news is good news.