During the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent 40-meter high tsunami that struck Japan in 2011, the technology-driven country had suffered unimaginable devastation. The two natural disasters left 16,000 dead in their wake and tens of thousands more injured. The destruction the earthquake brought to the country’s vital infrastructure in many areas was immense, destroying roads, power lines, radio towers and public transportation. The damage hampered emergency rescue and response efforts, resulting in many people becoming trapped for days without communications.
Since the Japanese earthquake, the international community has made preparedness in the age of IoT a primary concern for all. Seeking to address how rescue efforts could have been improved during the 2011 Japanese disaster, evaluations and collected reports painted a picture of how the Internet’s infrastructure was limited, but ultimately provided what telecommunications and radios could not. Technological first responders relied on the internet to locate family members with apps like Person Find, as well as using Twitter to communicate road closures and map routes to locations where many trapped people still needed help. Email was the key to government agency communication and coordination as the phone systems were in large part down, overloaded, or otherwise being reserved for emergency communications only. In the critical 20 minutes between the cataclysmic earthquake and the arrival of the tsunami, emergency responders had to communicate to everyone near the coastlines to evacuate to higher ground, a feat which was largely accomplished by using Twitter and social media accounts. When all else failed or became compromised, the Internet became the sole safe passageway to maintain operational emergency responses. (https://bluespan.com/blog/the-role-of-internet-technologies-in-disaster-management)
According to an article in Government Technology (https://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/Sandy-Social-Media-Use-in-Disasters.html) "Hurricane Sandy marked a shift in the use of social media in disasters. More than ever before, government agencies turned to mobile and online technologies. Before, during and after Sandy made landfall, government agencies throughout the Northeast used social media to communicate with the public and response partners, share information, maintain awareness of community actions and needs, and more. Throughout Hurricane Sandy, the public turned to social media for updates and assistance, and more than ever before, response agencies, organizations and community groups used social media to organize and direct resources where needed. Twitter and Facebook were used extensively by individuals, first responder agencies and utility companies to relay messages and information, share evacuation orders and provide updates on the storm."
A Techsling article (https://www.techsling.com/how-technology-helped-out-during-hurricane-sandy/) stated "The massive storm nicknamed Sandy pummeled through large swathes of the East Coast that led to citywide shutdowns, ordered evacuations, and a lot of other compromising situations. Still, it can’t be denied that technology played a big part in mitigating some of the dangers and challenges brought forth by this natural crisis... With power outages and horrible wireless coverage still hampering normalcy in NY, charging cellphones, laptops, and other mobile devices are still top priority for residents. When all else fails during natural disasters, Starbucks’ WiFi networks and internet access are usually up and running; and a lot of people have resorted to flocking to or lounging at the coffee chain’s outlets to take advantage of the power outlets and internet connectivity they offer. When wireless carrier’s cell sites are down, the most logical thing to do is to turn to WiFi networks to enable VoIP calling on devices. Evidently, a lot of people are starting to acknowledge the help they can get from Internet-based phone services during disasters."
In August of 2016, the biggest flood to hit Louisiana in 500 years happened. More than 30,000 people were evacuated and over 146,000 homes damaged. Volunteers (the Cajun Navy) used the Internet based network radio app, Zello, to communicate and coordinate rescue efforts. At the peak of the crisis, the channel had over 800 members or subscribers. All 800 could be online and active at the same time (the limit is 2000). As calls for help came in, they were transmitted live on the channel. By using Glympse and Google Maps for GPS coordinates, the closest boats could then be dispatched to help. (https://blog.zello.com/zello-rescue-walkie-talkie)
When Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas in late August 2017, it brought with it "catastrophic rain" and flooding that caused billions of dollars in damage, especially in and around the Houston area. Fortune reports the storm knocked out 70 percent of the cell towers in affected counties. According to a report from MySanAntonio.com, Hurricane Harvey knocked out internet and telephones service to almost 200,000 homes, more than 360 cell towers and 16,911 call centers. A study from the Federal Communications Commission shows that about 1,000 cell towers were knocked out during Hurricane Katrina. But CNet.com reports that the service to the downed cell towers was restored to about half of those customers only a few days after the storm.
"Wireless carriers like Sprint depend on various entities that provide commercial power, backhaul and wireline services," Singleton said. "While back-up batteries and generators can keep a cell site running for additional hours and even a couple of days, the ongoing loss of commercial power and local wireline service can result in a disruption of service. In the event a cell site does lose functionality due to prolonged power loss, or an area is particularly hard hit by the storm, we have our fleet of mobile resources that we can bring in to help provide sufficient coverage to the area."
"The Verizon network team works year-round preparing for hurricanes and other disasters." "Verizon built a network that stands up to the most extreme circumstances and includes switch operation centers, equipment depot and cell sites built to withstand a wide range of natural disasters as well as a fleet of mobile equipment and drones that help with recovery efforts and much more. "Where Verizon owns and operates a network, despite wide-scale power outages and severe water damage, Verizon’s network performed exceptionally well. 98 percent of Verizon customers remained operational after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas." (https://www.govtech.com/em/disaster/Will-Your-Cell-Service-Work-if-a-Hurricane-Rolls-Through-the-Coast-and-Will-it-be-Enough.html)
Here in Washington, Emergency Responders First to use SpaceX’s Starlink Internet in the Field. Washington’s state military, which includes its emergency response division, began employing Starlink user terminals in early August 2020 to bring internet service to areas devastated by wildfires. User terminals are the small devices on the ground that connect to the satellites. The emergency division has seven Starlink user terminals, which it is deploying with early success. The Starlink satellite internet network that SpaceX is developing has been used in the field by Washington state emergency responders in recent weeks, the first early application of the company’s service to be disclosed. The full Starlink network is planned to have about 12,000 satellites flying in what is known as low Earth orbit, much closer to the surface than traditional broadband satellites. Hall, whose division has used other satellite broadband services, said “there’s really no comparison” between Starlink and traditional networks, where the satellites are farther away from the Earth in Geosynchronous or medium earth orbits. (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/washington-emergency-responders-use-spacex-starlink-satellite-internet.html)
In addition to StarLink, Viasat (formerly Exede) and HughesNet deliver satellite internet with reasonable broadband speeds to most small towns and rural areas in the US. Although both providers have data restrictions, they do have the advantage of being available in areas where cable, fiber, and even phone lines don’t reach (or have been destroyed by a disaster).
Should you rely solely on the Internet for disaster communications? No, of course not, but the often stated claim that Internet service won't be available in the wake of a disaster just isn't true. The fact is that Internet access probably will be available in those areas that avoid total destruction. Within the Amateur Radio community, services like Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) http://irlp.net/ and EchoLink http://echolink.org/ a program that allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology, may still be available. Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) that uses the Internet to link some repeaters will likely still be functional, and even in areas where Internet connectivity fails, it is worth noting that many DMR repeater networks, such as the Rocky Mountain Ham Network (https://www.rmham.org/dmr-site-information/) or Washington State's HamWAN Network (https://hamwan.org/) are built using a private microwave backhaul that does not rely on Internet connectivity. When we discount Amateur Radio technology that touches the Internet, we may be denying ourselves a valuable resource during a disaster response.
