Verizon opens emergency communications centers for Sandy’s South Jersey victims

For the next two weeks, two Red Cross shelters in Toms River, N.J., will double as Verizon Wireless Emergency Communications Centers.Set up at Toms River High Schools North and East, the centers include 20 laptops running on jetpacks, as well as 40 devices the public can use to communicate with loved ones while they await electricity and Internet service restoration in their homes.

The centers, operating out of 40-foot trailers, will also serve as charging stations for anyone who has a device but lacks the power to charge it elsewhere. Both centers will operate between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., seven days a week.