Before and after hurricane Florence hits, you'll want to contact your family and friends. But instead of calling them, you probably want to text. Scientific-American says the reason is two-fold.
When there's a lot of traffic on cell channels, texts take up less space and have a better chance of getting through.
They're also asynchronous. That means if they can't get through right now they'll keep trying. With a call, it either goes through or not.
Finally, they're much better for your battery. Texting burns a lot less power than a phone conversation does.