Dear Charles,

You could try offline Maps where you can download the needed maps on Wifi
for whatever area you need and keep them on your phone in case of
emergency. Regarding data, this is not an endorsement in particular - I
just saw an ad for Boost Mobile where they are offering $25 service for
unlimited talk/text/data a month, forever. So that may assist in the
limited data issue as an alternative solution. There are likely other
companies offering competing deals for unlimited cell phone data.

Please let me know if this helps and be safe out there.

Thanks,
Lauren Doughty

On Sat, Jun 28, 2025 at 1:30 PM charles meyer <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
>
>
> I would very much appreciate your caring help.
>
>
>
> SW Florida officials do an abysmal job of advising residents re: evacuating
> before a hurricane.
>
>
>
> They grandstand using general simple terms like “ have a plan” “be ready to
> leave when the time comes” and “know your flood zone.”  I wish John Candy
> was still with us to parody these empty suits.
>
>
>
> The adage – the devil is in the details applies to hurricane survival as
> well.
>
>
>
> So, I’m doing my own due diligence (and helping patrons as well) not having
> the recommended family, friends or 2nd or 3rd homes in other areas to
> escape to.
>
>
>
> My budget doesn’t allow for more than Tracfone with their free Samsung A03.
>
>
>
> Mostly that works OK for texting, phone calls, taking photos/videos.
>
>
>
> It becomes a problem when you need to escape and have to use Google Maps
> (GM) or Waze.
>
>
>
> I read a couple of articles I Googled where they shared that GM uses .73 MB
> of data every 20 minutes and 3-5 MB an hour compared to Waze using 0.23 MB
> per 20 minutes.
>
>
>
> If you use GM turn-by-turn navigation with live traffic updates it uses
> 7-10MB of data an hour. I can imagine using the turn-by-turn navigation as
> last escape was a nightmare driving to an unfamiliar area hundreds of miles
> away.
>
>
>
> I have 1.46 GB of data on my smartphone.
>
>
>
> I imagine could use all that up just evacuating our area to wherever we
> need to go as you never know exactly where a hurricane is heading.
>
>
>
> If I use a library hotspot to access free WIFI as I drive away from a
> hurricane will that allow me to avoid using any of my current data?
>
>
>
> I’ve used the hotspot in the car on a trip and it worked OK but there was
> no hurricane.
>
>
>
> Is my only alternative to buy 10 GB of data from Tracfone as the hurricane
> approaches (in the days before)?
>
>
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
> Charles.
>
>
>
> Charlotte County Public Library
>