Local lines jam first, and the call two states away gets through
Radios have their place. An index card in a kid's backpack beats them both.
Issue #043 Monday, September 21, 2026 Emergency Skills
When a storm hits, local calls jam before the towers ever go down. The line to a cousin three states away often rings right through.
Today’s Skill
The card in every wallet
Pick one contact who lives at least two states away. Everyone in the house calls or texts that person when local lines jam. Write the full 10-digit number on an index card, plus a meeting spot near home and a second one outside the neighborhood. One card per wallet, one taped inside each backpack. Kids carry it too. Paper does not need a charge.
On The Radar
Late September water, not wind
September runs the tail end of the Atlantic hurricane season, and the damage inland comes from rain, not the eyewall. Storms stall and dump for days hundreds of miles from the coast. Wildfire season is still running hard across the West. Today, look up whether your street sits in a flood zone, and move what you cannot replace off the basement floor onto shelves.
The Drill
One test text, everyone, tonight
Tonight at dinner, have every person in the house send the out-of-state contact one text: their name, where they are, and the word test. No group chat. Each phone sends its own. Then call that contact and confirm all the messages landed. Write the card for anyone who had to look up the number. Fifteen minutes, done.
Ready beats lucky.
- Survival Rise
P.S. Tomorrow: the three things in your glovebox that should not be there.