Wireline and wireless telephone carriers are preparing for yet another hurricane, this time in Texas. Hurricane Rita, a Category 5 storm, is set to make landfall in Texas early Saturday morning.

SBC Texas has staged work crews and emergency equipment in preparation for the hurricane, and is maintaining contact with local city and emergency crews to restore communications wherever needed.

“Beyond maintaining one’s safety, staying connected is the single most important thing that family members and employees can do in the event of a major storm or other disaster,” said Cliff Agee, Network vice president, SBC Communications. “We strongly encourage everyone to talk with their children and other family members and that businesses talk with their employees to ensure that they have a good crisis plan in place.”

SBC opened a Web site, Vital Connections, offering tips and information in English and Spanish to help people prepare for natural disasters.

“We also encourage everyone to keep at least one corded phone connected to a wall jack operating in their homes and businesses to ensure that they have telecommunications service in the event of an electrical outage,” Agee said. “Digital phones are great, but they also require 110 volts of electrical power and will not work if power to the house or business is lost.”

Cingular Wireless annnounced it is staging crews and equipment in San Antonio to respond to Hurricane Rita.

“Wireless phones are often the only line of communication for many people during and after hurricanes and we want consumers to know what they can do to maximize the use of their device during a storm,” said Andy Shibley, vice president and general manager for Cingular Wireless in South Texas. “We have the necessary emergency resources in place to quickly respond and are prepared for what Rita may bring.

“One top recommendation that was validated when Hurricane Katrina hit was that people should text message rather than try and make voice cell calls. Text messaging uses far less bandwidth, and experience has proven that people are more likely to get through with text messaging. When additional people attempt to make voice calls at the same time, it adds congestion to the network, which can block calls from getting through. That doesn’t happen with text messaging.”

Verizon Wireless announced it was also ready for Hurricane Rita.

“Verizon Wireless technicians prepare for emergencies year-round,” said Luis M. Cruz, president of the Central Texas region for Verizon Wireless. “Planning for emergencies is an important part of our commitment to build the most reliable wireless network for all of Texas.”

Carriers offered the following tips to prepare for the hurricane and to stay connected afterward.

• Have a corded phone available and connected to your landline. In the event of a power outage, your cordless phones, answering machines, etc., will not work.
• Program emergency contact numbers into each of your wireless phones. You should have numbers for the police department, fire station, hospital, and all of your family members, so that you don’t have to remember them (or look them up) later.
• Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members know who to contact if they become separated.
• Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. Use a car charger or disposable batteries.
• Keep your wireless phone dry by storing it in a plastic sandwich or freezer bag. The greatest threat to wireless phones in a hurricane is water damage.
• If you can, forward your calls from your landline number to your wireless number, or leave your wireless number on your outgoing voicemail message, so that people who have only your landline number can still contact you.
• Use text messaging over placing phone calls for non-emergency communications. After a disaster, the networks will be very congested, and emergency workers need to use them to coordinate their work. As shown in Hurricane Katrina, text messages will get through when regular calls cannot.
• If you must make calls, wait a few seconds after hanging up before placing the next call. This gives the network time to clear down your previous call. When possible, use landline phones for voice calls instead of your wireless phone.
• If you have a camera phone, use it to take pictures of any damage your property suffers for your insurance company. And if you have Web service on your phone, use it to get weather updates.

As a major hurricane, Rita threatens not only coastal areas, but many areas inland as well. If an evacuation order has been issued for your area, heed the order and go. Staying behind will not change what happens, and it puts you and your family into harm’s way needlessly. Be safe out there.