THERE is a looming threat of major and potentially prolonged power outages as Tropical Cyclone Marcia hits the Queensland coastline then travels slowly south.

All those in the storm-affected areas should ensure they have a battery-powered radio with spare batteries so they can be kept up with the latest emergency information.
 

For those who want to continue living in the 21st century during their power outages, here are some tips to keep your phone going for longer.

These tips work for iPhones, courtesy of Apple.
 

• Turn on auto-brightness or dim the screen

Find Settings, then Display & Brightness and turn "auto-brightness on. This will dim or light your screen based on light conditions, hopefully saving power. Manually dimming your screen will also help.
 

• Use Wi-Fi as long as you can

It uses less power than connecting to the cellular network.
 

• Turn off 'background activity'

Even when you're not using apps on your phone, they may still be running. Go to Settings - General - Background App Refresh and set it to 'off'.

If the Mail app lists background activity, you can set it to fetch new emails only when you want it. 
Go to Settings - Mail, Contacts, Calendars - Fetch New Data.
 

• Location and Background Location

Turn off Location Services. Go to Settings - Privacy - Location Services. Turn them off unless you need them.
 

• Home and Lock Screen

If you're phone is forever notifying you of things -- Facebook/Instagram/Twitter or new emails -- turn 'em off.
Go to Settings - Notifications and set 'allow notifications' to off.

• No cell coverage/low signal

If your phone has no connection, save battery by turning on Airplane mode.

Go to Settings, and tap 'Airplane Mode'