(BPT) Severe weather can cause major damage to homes, businesses and critical communications infrastructure. Storms can knock out cable and fiber connections, as well as cell towers, making it difficult to receive emergency updates, track community response and access critical financial and health information. While it’s hard to know where and when severe weather may strike, residents and businesses in disaster-prone areas can weather the storm with a few simple steps.

Here’s what you can do to stay connected when disaster strikes:

1) Protect your data.

Electronic devices store a tremendous amount of vital personal and business information. A best practice anytime of the year, but particularly in advance of severe weather, is to back up your data to the cloud so it is safe, secure and easily accessible whenever or wherever you need it. Depending on the device, you can even set a reminder that enables it to upload your data automatically to the cloud on a regular basis.

2) Preserve battery power.

Make sure your devices are fully charged at all times. Consider purchasing portable power banks so you can charge your devices even if the power is out. To preserve existing battery life, keep screens in low light mode and close out any non-essential apps. You may also want to consider investing in a standalone generator that kicks in when the power goes out.

3) Pre-download emergency information.

In the wake of natural disasters, receiving emergency information in real-time is critical. Emergency notification mobile apps, such as those from the American Red Cross and FEMA, offer real-time weather updates, disaster assistance, safety preparation, recovery advice and more. Download them and your local government websites so you can access them quickly in an emergency.

4) Safeguard your internet.

For businesses, an internet outage can hinder payment processing, security and communication with employees, customers and vendors. Consider an internet service that’s less susceptible to storm damage – like satellite internet – for a primary or back-up service.

Satellite internet provider HughesNet connects rural communities that fiber and cable providers don’t reach. Transmitting from space, satellite internet is less susceptible to storm damage than land-based services, reliably connecting millions of users to the internet.

Plus, it offers a satellite backup service for small businesses that takes over when land-based connections are damaged, keeping operations running seamlessly during unexpected outages. With its Automatic Failover Router, HughesNet Internet Continuity automatically switches to satellite internet whenever the primary service goes down – protecting businesses against costly downtime.

While it is hard to predict where the next hurricane will hit, you can control how you prepare and respond. For residents and business owners in storm-prone regions, prepping your tech this storm season is the best thing you can do to protect yourself, your loved ones and your livelihood – no matter what storms might come your way.

Check out internetcontinuity.hughesnet.com for more tips.