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o aid customers and recovery in the aftermath of the tornadoes, Verizon Wireless deployed temporary cell towers or COLTs to enhance calling coverage in and around Harveyville, Kansas around Harrisburg, Illinois.
The COLTs will provide extra network capacity to Verizon Wireless customers in the areas affected.
We checked with a Verizon representative and If you are in an area where you need help, you can always go to a Verizon Wireless store for emergency communication resources such as free Internet access and in-store use of 4G LTE tablets, so residents impacted by the recent storms can contact family and friends at no cost. Customers can also use a battery charging station that allows users of any carrier to charge their smartphones and other wireless devices.
Verizon Store
The Verizon Wireless store is located at 2901 West Deyoung Street in Marion. The store is open 9:00 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday and from 12 - 5 p.m. on Sunday. The store phone number is (618) 997-5770.
Here are some Disaster Apps and Tips:
- FEMA Android App for Disaster Preparedness.
- General disaster tips for cell phone use, charging, data backup and more.
- We also suggest you bookmark in your browser resources for your area. Some suggested sites to bookmark are the National Weather Service (http://mobile.weather.gov), Center for Disease Control (http://m.cdc.gov), and FEMA (http://m.fema.gov).
If a natural disaster escalates to a point where you have to be evacuated for any reason, contact your carrier. They often offer free voicemail and landline call forwarding during a disaster, as they did with the fires in Southern California.
In general, you may want to contact your carrier to find out if they have evacuation centers or mobile stores where you can charge your cell phone or call family.