The following is an excerpt from an article, written by iPhone Atlas staffer David W. Martin, documents his experiences with the Apple iPhone and various applications that helped him survive the passing of hurricane Ike through his Southeast Texas community. To read the entire article, go to http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/10/14/in-the-iphone-of-the-hurricane/

Hurricane Ike: Makes life difficult in Southeast Texas

The winds from Ike, however, were noticed way before the storm made landfall since power was lost several hours before the storm struck the coastline and flooding had already started well before that. The result was the loss of the TV, which is, of course, the best form of communication to have. All of us, after all, like to see it coming, don’t we? Weather radar, tornado warnings, bands of rain. In any event, with the loss of power we were also left without landline phone services. I encourage everyone to get and keep a phone handy that does not require electricity for use–the house I took shelter in did not have one. I left mine at home and won’t the next time around. However we did have a battery-operated AM/FM radio to listen to local news bulletins. We also had our cell phones that we made sure were fully charged and kept charged for as long as possible.

I, of course, had my iPhone 3G with me and I had updated it to iPhone OS 2.1 prior to the storm coming. It was fully charged and would prove to be very useful throughout the long night ahead of us. I took some time to look at iPhone OS 2.1 to keep my mind off of things and to work up some topics to write about for iPhone Atlas. The distraction worked fine for a little while until the storm came.

The storm arrived and we were plunged into darkness relying on battery-operated devices, iPods, laptops, cell phones, lanterns, candles, and flashlights. We’d gone to bed early so that we could all stay up and keep watch when the storm came. Some people might laugh about that, but the problem with these storms is that they have a tremendous amount of wind, rain, and most of all, tornados. If we had to leave in a hurry to seek shelter elsewhere, we’d have to act fast. So we needed to be wide awake. No worries there; Ike’s fury took care of that part.

When Ike was in full force around us and with the power out, I sought a means of contacting the outside world and discovered that my iPhone was working and able to make a data connection to AT&T’s network. I, of course, turned off the features on the phone that I did not require such as 3G and Push, so I could get the most out of my batteries in the iPhone. Much to my surprise the phone maintained a connection throughout the whole ordeal. Besides having the AM/FM radio, I had a very useful tool for keeping informed about what was going on around me during the storm.

In the eye of the storm

One thing to note at this point was that since the storm landed in Galveston we not only got hit by it once, but twice. The reason is simple; remember that hurricanes are circular so we got the first part of the circle followed by the dead calm of the eye of the storm–where we took time to assess damage, and then the second part came through, which seemed worse than the first part. It was really amazing to go from fierce to calm, and back to fierce again. Wow. However, it was finally over hours later.

How the iPhone 3G helped

So, now let me give you a rundown of how the iPhone 3G turned out to be an invaluable tool. Sure, most of us complain about it for this and that, but it really saved the day this time around. It actually worked as I expected it to. The bonus was the surprise, at least for me, that AT&T’s network was intact during the storm.

The biggest and most helpful apps used during the duration of the storm were: Palringo, SMS, MySpace, Twitterific, and Weatherbug. Click one of the preceding links to read about an app we’ve covered before. SMS is the standard SMS Texting App that Apple provides for the iPhone. It was used to communicate with family and friends throughout the area and far away.

Reflections after the storm

After going through the ordeal of the hurricane, I again looked at the App Store and with the help of Ben Wilson, my editor, I discovered some other apps in the iTunes store that I will have ready for the next emergency, whether it is a storm or something else. They are: MyWeather, 1st Responder, and WunderRadio. I was also working on a review of the zBoost YX510 a Wi-Ex cell phone repeater prior to the hurricane, which helped as I’ll explain shortly after the storm had passed.

Wi-Ex ZBoost YX510-PCS-CEL

The Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL cell phone signal extender actually improves your cell phone’s reception of cellular radio signals. This device proved to be very handy after Hurricane Ike had passed and there was some obvious damage to cellular infrastructure due to flooding and loss of power due to the water, wind, or both.

The YX510 successfully pulled in cellular signals from other towers and helped keep us connected via iPhone when others were experiencing signal reception problems. I will be covering this device in detail in a later review, but my initial testing was very promising considering the conditions I was testing the device in.

Calm weather

Southeast Texas is enjoying calm weather again and now you know the story about my experiences during the storm and the fact that the iPhone 3G made a good addition to my hurricane emergency kit.

I was one of the lucky ones since we sustained minor damage to our shelter. We came through better than most people. My own home was unscathed this time around. I was truly blessed.