Originally Posted By: Tjin
The effected area after a disaster is generally pretty small. Even with nuclaire disaster, the exclusion zone is only 20km (Fukushima) or 30km (Chernobyl). The 2004 Tsunami only reached 2km inland. So cell service might not be that far away.

War, flooding, hurricans, typoons will have bigger effected areas, but you can see them coming. Having rapid information (be it early warning, traffic information or just satnav) might be the key to get out quicker, and make it far easier to figure things out outside the effected area. A smartphone is a pretty good tool for that.



Agree, but IMHO most of the events to which you refer might more properly be called evacuations rather than migration.

MIGRANTS are at present leaving North Africa in large numbers in the hope of a new life in Northern Europe. Most hope or expect to settle permanently.

EVACUEES have fled from hurricane Katrina, or superstorm Sandy, most moved relatively modest distances and returned to the area from which they had evacuated when the emergency was over.

A smartphone could be most useful in case of an evacuation in say the USA*, if however things had got so bad that significant numbers were migrating from the USA* then that suggests TEOTWAWKI with no cell phone service.

*or other developed and relatively prosperous nation.