he devastating earthquake which struck in Haiti on January 12th 2010 merely 10 miles from the capital city of Port-au-Prince created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions affecting more than 20 per cent of Haiti's 9 million residents.
Governments worldwide immediately offered their support. The United States and China sent planes full of supplies with other countries and millions of individuals joining to pledge their support and donations during this humanitarian disaster.
Disasters in the form of natural catastrophe, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, or terrorist attacks and accidents can occur at any time and the usual modes of communication might be lost or cease to work in such a crisis. These disasters have a devastating impact on human life, economy and environment.
The response phase following any disaster involves the immediate mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as the fire service, police, military and ambulance crews who may have their own existing local or tactical form of communications systems and networks. However, effective communication and coordination between these different factions, other aid workers and volunteers is imperative for an effective and comprehensive disaster management system.
Further to this, in such adverse conditions, it is also key that any first response and emergency teams are well trained, self reliant and equipped with the best and most reliable communication tools and hardware. It is almost impossible for a team to plan fully in advance as they may have no way of knowing where exactly they will be going and indeed what existing systems may still be working in the affected region.
There is a necessity to communicate the true scope and scale of the disaster to the outside world. Without the latest forms of communication technology these often desolate, far flung regions would be entirely isolated. Governments and individuals worldwide would be unaware of the severity of any such disaster and unable to muster the huge support and aid relief that reliable, instantaneous and ongoing communication technology can now provide.
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12 years, 8 month(s) ago