During the 2020 hurricane season, coastal communities in the United States experienced twice as many tropical storms and hurricanes as might have been expected based on historical averages. Climatologists said it was the most active [...]
The last few years have averaged ninety-five Federal Disaster Declarations each year; one every four days. When communications towers collapse during these events, fiber optic cables are damaged and cell traffic is down to marginal [...]
In her PrepTalk, Professor Claudine Jaenichen explains the cognitive biases that impede our ability to make the right decision when confronted with an emergency. She makes the case that using design standards to convey information [...]
While disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis occur with little to no warning, other disasters provide days or even weeks of warning, such as hurricanes and droughts. Regardless of the number of days of advance warning [...]
Some may dismiss satellites as old, outdated technology, but in reality, they are a disaster response tool that every organization should have in its arsenal. Satellites are a mainstay in large corporations and government entities, [...]
Assembling sandbags in Virginia Beach, Va., before Hurricane Florence’s arrival. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Daniel P. Aldrich, Northeastern University Soon after my family moved to New Orleans in the summer of 2005, we heard Mayor Ray [...]
Satellite communications facilitates connectivity in remote communities. Effective disaster response requires expertise across a wide range of sectors. How various sectors interact and exchange information can be critical to a positive outcome. Often, each sector [...]
American Red Cross We often hear that there are three basic requirements for people to live: Food, water and shelter. I think there is a fourth requirement that becomes acute following a disaster: The need [...]
Businesses of all sizes today use voice over IP (VoIP) technology for their phone systems. The use of data networks for transporting voice communications has grown dramatically over the past 20 years. VoIP leverages the [...]
For those of you whose organization use a contact center to handle incoming phone calls you know how important the system is to your business. But how well are you protecting that important investment? What [...]
It’s something we generally take for granted: voice communications. And yet, without it, most businesses will have difficulty surviving for an extended period of time. How has this important business asset evolved over the past [...]
To reduce costs, businesses around the world are turning to free apps for texting and instant messaging. These programs do serve the purpose of communicating in real-time. Yet, there are grave concerns when organizations turn [...]