There’s No Interrupting The Weather

Michael Hedges November 25, 2013 Follow on Twitter

Imagine the wind lifting the roof from your house, water rushing in the windows, the ground shaking or fire inching closer. In highly developed regions systems are in place to provide timely and accurate information. But natural disasters know no boundaries. And where people are most vulnerable the most reliable information sources are the best.

Timely in light of the recent massive typhoon in the Philippines, a presentation on emergency broadcasting services was held (November 21) at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva highlighting the special role of terrestrial radio and television in bringing critical information to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. One speaker after another illuminated lessons learned over the past decade, from the 2004 Banda Aceh tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake to the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and the recent giant typhoon that swept through large portions of the Philippines.  Radio is “the reliable communications medium in emergency situations,” said ITU-R Study Group 6 chairman Christoph Dosch, opening the meeting.

Considerable energy has been exhausted making a case for new media, particularly mobile media, when disaster strikes. Technology has made giant leaps but once electrical supply is disrupted cellular phone systems go down along with internet access and television broadcasting. Radio stations become the ‘first informer’ when battery power is all that’s available.

“People just need information,” said meeting co-chair and NAB (US) technology vice president Lynn Claudy. In several countries, notably the United States and Japan, there are highly developed national warning systems using broadcast means on radio, television and, more recently, mobile telephones to give advance alert to impending weather or geophysical emergencies. By “reflex” people affected by these emergencies try to access sources known for reliable national and local information for answers: what is happening?

When catastrophic failure occurs, from physical disruption of transmission systems to loss of electrical power, options for this information rapidly becomes limited. As the hierarchy of information demand increases, supply may be decreasing. The resulting fear and panic can hamper rescue and relief efforts. The voices of radio broadcasts, quite uniquely, can provide relief, comfort and hope.

Communication systems support for regions affected by these disasters has become sophisticated, many lessons learned put into practice. First Response Radio, an NGO developed from the Australian non-profit Health Communication Resources after the 2004 Banda Aceh tsunami, coordinates delivery of radio station equipment, primarily in the Asia/Pacific region. Their ‘radio station in a box’ is designed for rapid transport and set-up, targeting 72 hours. The FM radio station it set up in Tacloban, Philippines is providing aid information in local languages and will continue until the emergency phase of the disaster ends. One tricky issue faced is licensing; clearing FM frequencies on short notice. Several participants noted the particular advantages of shortwave broadcasting, including wide coverage and existing services.

As people are, literally, “left in the dark” by catastrophic disasters, the “role of communications is marginalized within the humanitarian system,” offered BBC Media Action policy director James Deane. Relief agencies, all well meaning, expect priority when emergency communications services are limited. There is, it seems, tension between ‘first responders’ and ‘first informers’. BBC Media Action is a UK NGO, formerly known as BBC World Service Trust, coordinating media outreach activities of several organizations.

“Radio remains the most robust, resilient and reliable infrastructure,” said Mr. Deane.

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