Communications: Staying Connected to the World
Understanding “real-time” information during disasters or emergencies is more than important-- it is a matter of life and death. The need for accurate, timely information during emergencies to take proper actions cannot be over emphasized.
Most people assume that television is the main source for local information during disasters. But what if the local television media is not available or if their information is not current? Today more than ever before, information lies in the hands of the people. And this information and communications are even more readily available and accessible to those who know how to seek and find it.
With some simple, advanced forethought to those devices that can assist you in disasters, you will be well prepared to take advantage of gathering this life-saving information when the next event strikes.
Strengths and Weaknesses With Everyday Communication Devices
Key to your communications strategy is the ability to send and receive messages over a variety of devices–landline and cell phone, satellite phone, mobile device and pager. To be effective, a crisis-communication plan must anticipate and overcome potential obstacles such as power outages and downed phone lines. Be sure to consider the following limitations associated with each mode of communication:
Cell Phones and Landline Phones: These are most efficient for less-severe events and are most accessible for reaching employees, family, first responders or citizens. These devices also offer the ability to bridge into a conference call or command center for full incident management with the touch of a button. However, phone lines may be compromised or tied up during a more-severe incident.
SMS: While it takes longer to type a message than to speak it, SMS has proven to be sometimes the most reliable method of communication, even in more-severe incidents. Most cell phones now accept SMS messages, and because they require less bandwidth, the ability to send SMS messages is often available when a voice call is not. These channels continue to be overlooked and underutilized in emergencies.
BlackBerrys, Smartphones, PDAs, and Emails: BlackBerrys prove valuable because they can receive email, voice or SMS messages. However, they often rely on a corporate server or backup server that would need to in a safe location distant from the incident. E-mail without a BlackBerry is effective only in less-severe incidents when someone is near a computer.
Emergency Radios: Standing ready to alert and inform on a 24/7 basis, inexpensive emergency alert radios are a life saver to families throughout the world. As part of the “public alert systems” in many countries, these radios alert families to oncoming tornadoes, storms, civil unrest, and any other forms of emergencies. For a very modest price (typically less than $30), emergency alert radios will perform non-stop scanning of the local and regional alert networks. And when called upon, they will automatically serve up the local emergency information as it is being broadcasted over the airwaves. These radios are also great for traveling to unfamiliar paces where adverse or dangerous weather might present a threat to vacationing or visiting travelers. Able to run on battery, house power, and even crank power, a good emergency radio is a must for every family’s home emergency kit.
Public Media: Television for the last few decades has been the dominant source of information for many people. Interestingly, with the advent of Twitter and other online social media feeds, many of these new avenues of information outstrip the ability of a single news station to capture the information in a timely and complete manner While television will remain an optional source of information, look to new forms of mobile, social, and online information and toolsets to overshadow single source feeds of emergency information.
More Specialized Communication Devices
Two - Way Radios: When disaster strikes and communications are down, even professional rescuers turn to two-way radios for effective transmissions. Two-way radios provide an inexpensive way to ensure adequate communication during a disaster- a quality set can be purchased for less than $40 USD. Users do not need to license a frequency for infrequent use during emergencies. Two-way radios do not rely on phone lines, electricity (except to charge the batteries), or towers. They will transmit messages as far as 12 miles in optimal conditions. They allow for regular voice communication and require no special training or expensive equipment. Many individuals and businesses find the use of two-way radios vital to their efforts, as well. Families can use these radios to stay connected to each other when they cannot be with each other. This also allows a member, or members, of the family to stay connected to the rest of the family while they venture out of the area to get help. Businesses can assign radios to key emergency response personnel to help facilitate organized and pre-planned emergency responses. These radios provide a quick, and reliable, means of organizing a coordinated evacuation and response to any disaster situation.
Satellite Phones: These are most effective for critical incidents as they will work when a cell phone or landline is unavailable. However, they are expensive and harder to manage and may be best for decision makers and first responders only.
New Forms of “Real Time” Communication Emerging
In recent years, the use of social media like FaceBook, Twitter, and web-based connections as a method of real-time disaster communication has skyrocketed. When these systems are up and available to both victims and responders, the ability to communicate assistance, needs, resources, emergency instructions, and “real-time” situational ground reports is superior to nearly all forms of information gathering.
One of the greatest tools that have emerged this decade is Ushahidi, which allows the mapping and tracking of a mirad of resources, needs, and the emergency status of both victims and responders. Created by spontaneous, international, all-volunteer programming teams, Ushahidi’s use for mapping in recent earthquakes (such as Haiti, New Zealand, and Japan) has proven to be invaluable in ways unimaginable only a few years ago. Look for these and many other social media toolsets to change the landscape of disaster information gathering in the months and years ahead.
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