- Disaster Response
Mobile Operators Respond to Tornado in Oklahoma
A tornado with a width of 2 miles and winds of up to 200 miles/hour struck Oklahoma City on Monday, May 20th just after 3 pm local time. The suburb of Moore was particularly impacted and a local elementary school has been flattened. Current reports place the...
- Disaster Response
April Roundup: A Challenging Month for Communication Networks in Disasters
The tragedies last week in China, Boston, Iran and Pakistan, and the flooding in Buenos Aires earlier this month underscore the dependence that affected communities and emergency response agencies place on mobile networks to communicate with loved ones and coo...
- Disaster Response
New Publications signal a turning point for the use of mobile and ICT in humanitarian crises and the protection of human rights
The past month has witnessed the publication of a number of ground-breaking papers related to the use of mobile technology in natural disasters, complex emergencies and human rights. In recent years, the power of mobile in facilitating social movements, ele...
- Disaster Response
Key Partnerships Speed Response to Typhoon Bopha
Last month, in the aftermath of a super typhoon that hit Mindanao Island in the Philippines, I witnessed an inspiring cooperation amongst mobile operators and NGOs. It was encouraging to learn just how much more efficient and effective disaster response can be...
- Disaster Response
Mobile and Humanitarian 101: Key Themes from the GSMA Disaster Response and CDAC Network Webinar
On 20th November 2012, the GSMA Disaster Response Programme, in partnership with the CDAC Network, hosted a webinar titled “Back to the Basics: Mobile and Humanitarian 101.” The objective of this event was to bring together experts in the use of mobile c...
- Disaster Response
FloodFinder app: Real-time flood data using mobile phones in Thailand
A few months ago I was asked to become involved with an interesting competition run by USAID in Thailand called “Students for Solutions”. The competition challenged universities and colleges in Thailand to create mobile-based applications that could help i...
- Disaster Response
Mobile Operators Preparing for Hurricane Sandy to make landfall in the United States
As Hurricane Sandy touches down on the East Coast of the United States, the population is bracing for the impact of heavy rains and high winds, whilst emergency response personnel, utility companies and mobile operators prepare. Hurricane Sandy has been pic...
- Disaster Response
Disaster Risk Reduction: Establishing coordinated and reliable communications
October 13th marked the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, a day focused on improving resilience at a national and community level, to mitigate the impact that natural disasters have on the environment, the economy, and most importantly, on those c...
- Disaster Response
For Telecoms companies, disaster preparedness begins to reap rewards
As Hurricane Isaac approached the Mississippi and Louisiana coastlines towards the end of August 2012, local telecom providers were busy preparing to ensure that their networks remained online and services were disrupted as little as possible for their million...
- Disaster Response
A Country at Risk: Building Resilient Mobile Infrastructures for Disaster Preparedness & Response in Nepal
Nepal has experienced a significant number of natural disasters including floods, landslides and earthquakes. Kathmandu in particular is widely regarded as an at-risk location for a natural disaster to strike; seven earthquakes rocked Nepal during August 2012....
- Disaster Response
Reflecting on humanitarianism
August 19th marked World Humanitarian Day, a date designated to raise awareness of "people helping people" and acknowledge the contribution of humanitarian workers who travel to the frontlines of natural disasters and conflicts to provide support and relief fo...
- Disaster Response
Flooding in the Philippines: A Look at SMART's Disaster Response Activities
On Monday, August 6th, Tropical Storm Haiku hit the Philippines, exacerbating precipitation from the south-west monsoon rains and causing mass flooding affecting 850,000 people and displacing more than 250,000. This storm follows Typhoon Saola which hit in l...
- Disaster Response
Managing Post-Storm and Disaster Power Outages: Is Distributed Generation a Solution?
The Eastern United States was sweltering at the end of June. The record-high temperatures caused a rare storm called a “derecho” which produces straight-line winds across a wide front of near-hurricane speeds (while a hurricane produces circular winds). Th...
- Disaster Response
Mobile Asia Expo: Disaster Response Working Group Overview
During Mobile Asia Expo (June 2012, Shanghai), the Disaster Response Programme welcomed representatives from the mobile industry and humanitarian community, including SMART Communications Inc., NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, Dialog Axiata, Ericsson, International Federatio...
- Disaster Response
M4D & ICT4D Innovation: The Importance of Local Knowledge and Insight
Development critics have long lambasted practitioners and organizations that are seen to create development policy and interventions driven by donor demands, and in turn, isolate the very populations they seek to assist. Rightly so—history is scattered with ...
- Disaster Response
Getting ready for cyclone season: Mobile operators and disaster preparedness
Over the last few weeks my inbox has become increasingly crowded with cyclone alerts. They’ve been sent to me by various alert systems that provide details on the formation and path of cyclones in both the Eastern Pacific and the Atlantic. Though current cyc...
- Disaster Response
Myanmar – a New Frontier for Disaster Telecoms?
I was in Yangon last week and witnessed the NLD gain 43 out of 44 contested parliamentary seats in Myanmar’s landmark by-elections. It may give them less than 7% of seats in parliament but it is still highly significant. Myanmar has come a long way in 18...
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