Winter Storm Stella: Emergency preparation contacts and safety tips

[Nilsa_VZ]

Winter Storm Stella: Emergency preparation contacts and safety tips:

Grab your coats, gloves, hats, batteries, and battery chargers…snow is on the way. With severe weather threatening the Northeast from Washington, DC through New York and New England, Verizon engineers and technicians are busily preparing the network to ensure you can connect when you need to most.

Significant snowfall can affect your ability to get out and about, can cause property damage, and in many cases can cause power outages. Whether we get two inches or two feet of snow, the Verizon networks are ready.

Keeping customers connected:

Verizon's Operations teams continue to closely monitor Stella's impact and will deploy technicians to the hardest hit areas as needed. Since our network facilities rely on power to deliver service, our backup batteries and generators at these facilities have been tested and fueled to keep power flowing and customers connected in case of prolonged commercial power outages. In addition, Verizon's disaster recovery fleet of emergency vehicles stands ready for deployment. The fleet includes a 51-foot mobile command center, two 53-foot mobile emergency calling centers, and satellite trailers.

Tips for staying connected during Stella:

• Store phones, tablets, batteries, chargers and other equipment in a dry, accessible location. Simple zip-lock storage bags will shield devices, and there are many weatherproof phones, cases and other protective accessories available.
• Keep phone and tablet batteries fully charged starting today in case local power is lost.
• Review the winter storm checklistand power outage checklist from the American Red Cross.
• Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for backup power.
• Maintain a list of emergency numbers – police and fire departments; power and insurance companies; family, friends and co-workers; etc. – and program them into your wireless devices before an emergency arises.
• Use your tablet to photograph and catalogue your valuables and other household belongings for possible insurance claims.
• Choose from hundreds of free weather-, news- and safety-related apps and services for smartphones and tablets, the American Red Cross app, Weather: Universal Forecast, The Weather Channel, Weather Underground, and NOAA Nowand other mobile resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

You can reach Verizon several ways if your services are affected by the storm:

• Visit verizon.com/outage to report service related issues, receive alerts, request repair and find helpful service-related FAQs. 
• Verizon Support on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and  
• The Verizon In-Home Agent application on your PC to diagnose and fix problems
• My Fios app can be used for additional support through mobile devices
• 1-800-VERIZON or 1-800-837-4966.

Small business customers can visit www.verizon.com/bizoutage. Medium business and enterprise customers should contact their regular customer service centers or account teams, as needed.  Enterprise customers can also access the Enterprise Center.

The Fios Mobile app can be used to watch TV programs including newscasts.

Please stay warm and safe and share this with your family and friends.