Who are you going to call if there is a fire? What if you live in an apartment building?
Stay in contact with friends and family when the cell towers go down.
The Landlines work when the power is out, and they're cheap. You probably have one in your closet. If not, your local store typically has one.
Get a old school corded one, not a cordless one that needs charging or power.
It cost about $9 to have, and your internet provider probably sells it already.
I'm surprised FEMA didn't list this in their recent Tweet.
A landline phone will work even during a hurricane. Phone lines have carbon fiber in them that keeps them from snapping when tree limbs bring down power lines. The power lines will break, but not the phone lines usually. Also, when the electricity goes out, a lot of the cell phone towers go out. And if they have battery backup, it doesn't last all that long. The phone companies have tons of batteries so they can keep going for days without power.
Can confirm phone lines are amazingly resiliant. But sometimes mother nature wants to land a 200 year old oak tree on a line and sever everything.
I have seen mile long stretch of power lines / telco lines down and every one will be without power for weeks but still be able to use the telephone (and dialup !)
But it does work if the poles are functional. This was the point I was trying to convey.
"Dur hur, your smoke signals won't work when it's raining."
See how asinine this argument is?