In short: Hurricane Florence is currently hitting the east coast, and has become a pretty big storm. To help cope with the damages that Florence is expected to bring, T-Mobile has announced that it is offering free calls, texts and data to those in the affected area. That includes those in Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Those in that area will be able to use their phone to call love ones and reach out to them to find out if everyone is okay.
Background: This is pretty typical for big weather events, many carriers will offer free calling, texting and data during the storm and shortly after, as people are looking to call their friends and family and let everyone know that they are doing okay and survived the storm. It’s a nice gesture by the carriers, especially for those that do need to call someone that’s out of the country (perhaps in Canada or Mexico), as they can do so without worrying about roaming charges and so forth. Those that are in those States that are being impacted by Hurricane Florence, you need to get out as soon as possible. The storm is pretty big, and one of the bigger hurricanes in the last 30 years, which is saying quite a bit.
The impact: In addition to offering up the free calls, data and texting, T-Mobile is also highlighting ways that people can help those in the affected areas. T-Mobile is offering “Text to Give” allowing people to donate $10 to the American Red Cross by texting FLORENCE to 90999. You can also donate $25 to Save the Children by texting HURRICANE to 20222, or donate $10 to the United Way South Carolina by texting FLORENCE to 501501. These donations will appear on your next bill, and could really help those that are in the affected areas.