phone use after a disaster
 

I just wanted to remind everyone not to use the phone after a major disaster unless you actually need help. We had a small, but still sizable earthquake in the San Jose, CA area last night. Apparently, everyone got on their cell phones afterwards and the extra load caused some service problems. If it had been something bigger, people may have actually needed to call for help. However, if the system was overloaded, they wouldn't have been able to. I know you want to make sure everyone is alright, but please remember that others may need to use the phone to get help.

I, for one, will probably turn my phone off during such an event.

Re: phone use after a disaster
 

There was the same problem here back in 2001 after the September 11th attacks. No one could get a call out edgewise, and if you did, you held onto that call as long as you could, because who knew if you'd get another one for 8 hours or more.

I hope everyone near San Jose is okay!

Re: phone use after a disaster
 

That really won't help the network. To not make a call from your phone will help clear congestion one way, but if someone is trying to get ahold of you, the network will still be in use for your phone and receiving voicemails even though your phone is off. It's not like unplugging an appliance to save electricity. As long as you have a contract, or service, the network is still seeing your phone and accepting calls on your behalf.

The best thing to do is not call anyone while something like that happened, but leave it on just in case someone needs to get ahold of you.

Just food for thought.

Re: phone use after a disaster
 

I'm about 30 miles from the epicenter, but it was so minor as to be almost a non-event where I live. Just a little shaking and rattling.

Everything I've heard on the news suggests the same as well. Most people probably didn't even have dishes fall off shelves or anything.

I too noticed cell service drop to a crawl in the 10-15 minutes after it. I was only text messaging and they wouldn't even go through.

Not only is it good advice to not overload the phones, everyone should have a plan in place with their family members regarding what you do in case of a disaster when not together, and with all phone service down.