We need to share more stories and lessons from past disasters.
After
Hurricane Katrina, many people along the Gulf Coast had no landline/cell phone/internet service as many towers had been destroyed and/or the power was knocked out. In Louisiana, many Parish (county/district) offices
had satellite phones; however, they did not have service because economic decisions had been made to cancel monthly service charges to spend those funds elsewhere. Many first responders did not have access to GPS tools or devices to communicate with other teams so there was a lack of coordination of services, leading to delays that duplicated efforts and cost lives.
Short wave radio is a resilient tool in the case of a physical disaster such as a tornado, flood or hurricane. Protocols should not be the realm of a few techies. Teaching more first responders and residents how to use them and ensuring that there are licensed operators in every Emergency Operations Center with functional radios would go a long way toward improving communication during physical disasters that interrupt those methods of communication that we take for granted on a daily basis.
Emergency activation of satellite phones
in disaster areas would have helped immensely. Distribution of tools and resources should be done quickly and span outside of city centers, by gridding the affected areas and assigning resources proportionally. Smart apps that convey information are essential to distribution of resources.
Typically, after a disaster many teams overlap and spend precious time duplicating a****sments. Sharing information has improved during the past five years; however, until we can create a transparent system that is adopted by the major NGOs and governmental partners, we will continue to fritter away precious resources while the sirens are blaring.
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