Sprint's prepared for Hurricane Earl in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

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via weather.com

Earlier this afternoon, the National Hurricane Center in Miami issued a Hurricane Watch for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands because of the arrival of Hurricane Earl. (This means hurricane conditions are possible. There is already a Tropical Storm warning in effect for both areas – this means tropical storm conditions are expected.)

Earl is currently a Category 1 storm, but conditions are expected to worsen tomorrow morning. Storm surges are forecasted to be between 1 and 3 feet, with 4 to 6 inches of rain expected in Puerto Rico. There could be up to 12 inches of rain in isolated areas of PR. Forecasters are warning of life threatening flash floods and mudslides on the island.

Sprint has taken a number of precautions to protect our network serving the region.

Earlier Friday, Saturday and today, our network engineers tested and fueled the back up generators which serve our cell sites and network switches in the region in the event of a disruption of commercial power.

Network engineers have also pre-staged diesel fuel and additional portable generators as an extra precaution.

Our network facilities are not located in areas where flooding is expected, but should the forecast worsen this evening, our network technicians are standing by with sandbags.

We urge our customers in the Caribbean who live in the areas most likely to be impacted by Hurricane Earl to take appropriate precautions. As with any storm, conditions can change rapidly, so customers are advised to monitor weather forecasts.

Sprint also offers the following hurricane preparation tips:

  • Keep your wireless phone and backup batteries charged, but be aware that an interruption of wireline and commercial power could affect wireless calls. 
  • If possible, get extra batteries and charge them. 
  • In times of commercial power outages, a car adapter for your wireless phone should enable you to recharge the battery. 
  • Keep phones and necessary accessories in a sealed plastic bag to avoid water damage. 
  • Load family and emergency numbers into your wireless phone. 
  • Use your Sprint camera phone to take digital pictures or video of your property and valuables before the storm hits. Upload the images to your personal pictures inbox on www.sprint.com so you have "before" pictures in the event of any storm damage. 
  • Wireless networks sometimes experience heavy traffic during emergency events, so remember to use Nextel Direct Connect(R) or send a text message. 
For more information about Sprint hurricane preparation efforts, or to learn what you can do to prepare in an emergency situation, visit: www.sprint.com/hurricaneinformation.