Here are five steps you can take to be hurricane ready:

• Make sure your phone is charged. Help preserve your battery life by keeping your brightness low, closing unneeded apps, adjusting your setting to low battery, and carrying an extra battery pack.
• Get comfortable with your phone. If you know a natural disaster is headed your way, use features on your phone like the camera or notes apps to take photos of insurance claims, and write down important things to remember.
• Check the settings on your phone to ensure your device can receive Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). These alerts are sent to those at risk by an authorized local, state, or federal public safety official in the event of an emergency. Additionally, make sure your browser or apps, like the American Red Cross Hurricane app, are up-to-date to track weather and emergency response info.
• Make use of your map features and apps. Instead of trying to use data in an emergency situation, download maps so that they are easily accessible. Details on how to download maps on iOS and Android be found here.
• The less data the better. Make sure the apps assisting you are using the least amount of data possible to ensure networks can handle critical phone calls and other traffic.

Following these tips are a great way to ensure that you and your family will be better prepared for whatever you might face this summer. To learn more about how to make your phone best suited to assist in these types of situations check out additional resources here, or visit ready.gov.