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Reaching your family when the network fails – texts, battery, radio, tracing

Preparing · Updated:

After an accident or in a crisis, everyone wants to know at the same moment whether their loved ones are OK. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) explains: when many more people than usual call at the same time, the network can become congested. With a few agreements made in advance, your message still gets through.

Text instead of calling

  • Send a text message. According to the FCC, texts often get through when a call does not – and they leave room on the network for emergency calls.
  • Keep calls short and only call when it really matters.
  • If one way fails, try another: text, email or a landline.
  • Do not redial straight away: the FCC advises waiting about 10 seconds before trying again.

A short message is enough: "I'm OK. I'm at … I'll be in touch."

A contact person far away

The FCC recommends choosing someone outside your area as a central contact – and making sure everyone in the family knows whom to contact if you get separated. This can be someone in another town or abroad. Anyone who cannot reach the others reports to that person, who passes the news on.

Save battery

  • Fewer and shorter calls also save battery, says the FCC.
  • Keep charged batteries, a power bank and a car charger ready. The German BBK also recommends a charged power bank.

Numbers on paper

The BBK recommends a list of important phone numbers on paper. When the battery is flat, the contacts in your phone are no help. Write your meeting points on it too.

Radio: knowing what has happened

In case internet and mobile networks fail, the BBK recommends a radio with batteries, a solar panel or a hand crank. According to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior, a car radio works too. In Austria, the ORF emergency radio station informs people around the clock during a blackout. Follow the instructions of the authorities.

Agree on it beforehand

It is best to talk it through calmly now:

  1. Who is our contact person far away?
  2. Where do we meet nearby – and further away, in case our neighbourhood is not safe?
  3. Who picks up the children, who looks after older relatives?

If you have lost each other: the tracing service

If families have been separated by war, disasters or flight, the Red Cross tracing service helps. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies form a worldwide network for this ("Restoring Family Links"). It searches for missing relatives, passes on messages when phone and post do not work and helps families to come back together.

  • In Austria: the tracing service of the Austrian Red Cross, phone 01 58900 318, email tracing@roteskreuz.at. The Red Cross recommends a personal conversation; there is also an online form.
  • In Germany: the German Red Cross (DRK) tracing service.
  • In other countries: the tracing service of the local Red Cross or Red Crescent Society, or the website familylinks.icrc.org.

In an emergency, always follow the instructions of the authorities and emergency services.

Sources

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