On Friday November 9th, one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall, Haiyan – dubbed “Yolanda” locally – hit the Filipino eastern coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar. The devastation was almost complete with some cities such as Tacloban and Guiuan being 80% flattened by the typhoon and the resulting storm surge.
So far, the Philippine Red Cross are reporting 1,200 casualties but there is an expectation that this number will increase dramatically in the coming days as relief efforts continue. Some agencies suggest that the total casualty figure may rise to 10,000. UN-OCHA reports that over 600,000 people have been displaced and there are almost 1,500 evacuation centres in operation in the region.
In many of the worst-affected areas, there is no water, food or electricity. There’s still no power in Leyte, Samar and many other regions. The communications department of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said the “estimated time of restoration for the areas cannot be determined yet.” This will put further strain on mobile operators as they must use battery back-up and diesel powered generators to keep sites up.
Access remains a serious barrier to aid efforts and from an operator point of view this also affects access to transmission and radio sites. Debris such as trees, buildings and boats are blocking roads which themselves have been damaged and ensuring once brief journeys are now multiple hour expeditions. Furthermore, forecasters predicted a tropical depression would move into the south and central Philippines on Tuesday, potentially bringing heavy rains that would further hamper relief efforts.
As is always the case with immediate aid efforts in the aftermath of such a disaster, one of the first priorities is in getting telecommunications networks back up and running. This is to enable both first responders to act effectively to coordinate efforts and for the affected people to communicate their status and whereabouts to loved ones. Indeed, Kristalina Georgieva, the EU Humanitarian Aid commissioner, said relief efforts would be guided by three priorities, with the first being “access to remote areas as quickly as possible, and the access issue is both transportation and also restoring telecommunications“.
The two main MNOs, Smart and Globe, between them holding 99% of the market have been very proactive in reporting their network outages and the progress of their restoration efforts.
Globe has reported that as of 6am Tuesday 54% of base stations adversely affected by the super typhoon have already been restored back to operations. In addition, Globe are regularly publishing restoration updates showing which sites are operational and in which region giving subscribers the information needed to make calls.
Smart has restored cellular coverage at the downtown area of Tacloban City on Monday and 51% in Leyte overall as of Tuesday, as part of its efforts to support emergency relief operations efforts of the government and humanitarian agencies. ‘‘Smart Satellite Services continue to provide vital communication links to key agencies involved in post-disaster response in many areas” said Ramon R. Isberto, Smart public affairs group head.
Additionally, both operators have set-up Libreng Tawag centres – Filipino for Free Call – and cell-phone charging stations for those with no access to communications. The locations of these are listed by both operators.
In order to get people and equipment to the most affected areas to carry out repairs, both operators have worked closely with various government units such the Armed Forces, the Air Force and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). These partnerships all previously existed, highlighting the need for disaster preparedness and response procedures in such situations. The NDRRMC coordinate the efforts between public and private sector and will continue to aid both operators in the coming days and weeks.
Télécoms Sans Frontières was one of the first NGO responders on the ground and has three functioning satellite connections – one each for the NDRRMC, the second for UN agencies and the third for other NGOs. The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster has been deployed, as has the Ericsson Response team to provide their wireless LAN system. Vodafone have deployed two Instant Networks to Palo, a region 15km south of Tacloban, one of the worst affected parts of the Philippines. The portable network, which fits in to four suitcases, weighs 100kg and can be transported on commercial flights, was transported to the country within 24 hours of the typhoon hitting.
Useful links:
Smart Updates – http://www1.smart.com.ph/About/newsroom
Globe Updates – http://beta.globe.com.ph/press-room/
Google Person Finder – http://mashable.com/2013/11/11/google-tools-typhoon-yolanda/
Crisis Map of the Disaster – http://irevolution.net/2013/11/11/live-crisis-map-of-disaster-damage-reported-on-social-media/
Donate to the Philippine Red Cross – http://ushare.redcross.org.ph/
Image Courtesy of Smart Communication Philippines