Communications Satellites: Help Lift the Fog of Disaster

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 to know what happened to a loved one. 

It is not overstating matters to write that this basic human need can be met by something thousands of miles away:  A communications satellite.

I was first introduced to this fourth basic requirement when I worked for the American Red Cross and over a million Americans were chaotically evacuated in response to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.  In the chaos, families were separated and many lost contact with loved ones.  In response to the disaster, the American Red Cross established a toll free phone number and an online tool which people could use to find missing loved ones who had registered with the American Red Cross or enable those evacuated to register with simple “I am alive and here is where I am” messages.  The anxiety of callers seeking loved ones was palpable as was the relief and thanks when callers were told that their loved one was alive.   This phenomenon occurs many times following disasters but was perhaps most clearly brought into focus for me following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti which took hundreds of thousands of lives.  In this case, I was able to see the relief wash over the face of a survivor as she used a satellite phone to call a loved one and tell them that they were alive.  

How was such a call made possible following the cataclysmic earthquake? Satellites.  In this case, Iridium satellites circling hundreds of miles above earth.

Other examples of the role played by communications satellites following a disaster abound . . . 

Following the 2014 Nepal earthquake, satellites thousands of miles above the earth enabled doctors in Nepal to conduct telemedicine with colleagues in Japan.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Satellite links enabled those responding to 2017’s Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to communicate with headquarters to assess needs, order relief supplies, coordinate with other responders, and enable those affected by the hurricane to utilize mobile hotspots to call loved ones and tell them that they were alive.

American Red Cross

Communication satellites play a recurring and significant role following a natural disaster for several reasons.

While earth bound telecommunications networks like cables and cell towers are robust, they are not immune to the effects of tornados, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, wars, and other disasters.  And when they are destroyed, it may prove difficult to impossible to quickly repair destroyed cables and deploy replacement cell towers when roads are blocked, bridges are destroyed, and airlift capability is in short supply.  In contrast, when a disaster strikes on earth, the satellite in space is unaffected which leaves just the need to deploy lightweight antennas that can be broken into components that can be hand-carried . . . . literally up steep mountainsides as occurred following the Nepal earthquake.

American Red Cross

In addition to the relative ease of getting the satellite antennas into the disaster affected region, they require relatively little training to assemble, point and operate with courses being offered online as well as in classrooms.  To date, over 17,000 people have received GVF training worldwide.

ESMT, Senegal

While the hardest part following a disaster is often getting the antenna to the right place, the necessary next step is activating the satellite capacity being used by the disaster responder.  Once activated, the additional advantages of satellite communications following disaster comes into play.  As satellite operate miles above the affected region, they “see” wide geographic areas that not only encompass the entire disaster affected region, but also see areas outside the disaster affected region.  This enables direct and instantaneous communications between people in the region and people in unaffected parts of the country from which disaster operations are led as well as other countries which are sources of relief supplies such as food, shelter kits, field hospitals, water & sanitation supplies, logistics, and international aid workers.  As satellites have become more powerful and plentiful, this has enabled voice, video and data communications in much greater number which also serves to improve the quality of a disaster response.  In war, we hear about the “fog of war”.  It is no different with disasters as the “fog of disasters” can lead to too little assistance being devoted to some areas of the disaster affected region, the wrong types of supplies being sent to those in need, and aid workers working at cross purposes.  Satellite communications help lift the fog of disaster and thereby save the lives of many people affected by the disaster.

In recognition of the critical role played by the satellite industry in mounting an effective response to disasters, the United Nations recently entered into a unique agreement with 11 satellite companies.  Through the “Crisis Connectivity Charter”, these companies have committed to provide hybrid, predictable, and scalable end-to-end satellite-based solutions for up to nine disasters each year.  The Charter further provides that the companies will provide these solutions within 24 hours of the request while also providing the necessary training for disaster responders and dedicated satellite capacity.  All of this will be provided at no cost.  For its part, the United Nations stores the equipment in the UAE and Italy, imports the equipment to the affected country, transports the equipment to the disaster affected region, and obtains any needed licenses.

The Charter was most recently activated when Cyclone Idai struck Mozambique.  In this case, the Cyclone struck with such force that it destroyed the earth-based telecommunications network across a wide swath of territory.  Even before the needs were fully known, the Charter was activated and three satellite operators – Euteslat SA, Inmarsat, and SES – made satellite capacity available which was quickly utilized when the United Nations deployed the satellite antennas into the affected region.  The network was soon providing disaster responders with the ability to communicate with colleagues across the region and the rest of the world to mount the response.  Over a month following landfall, the network was still being utilized to provide vital communications links to several disaster response organizations in three separate towns – including a field hospital.

Communications satellites are a critical asset following a disaster.  When earth-bound communications networks are destroyed, satellite communications networks are relatively quick to deploy and scale to meet the varied needs of disaster responders.  The Crisis Connectivity Charter provides the UN and other humanitarian organizations with the means to access satellite capacity with trained staff that are properly equipped and quickly transported to the disaster affected region.  As communications satellites have grown in power and number, they are proving to be even more effective in addressing needs following disasters and helping lift the fog of disaster.