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Post-disaster communication
Why is it in news?
- Recent disaster by cyclone Fani devastated communication channels between Odisha state and its districts like Puri where State control room was not able to establish regular communication with the district headquarters.
- It resulted in utter confusion in relief and rescue operations.
More in news
- 1st incidence since 1999: State disaster managers are all set to introspect how it failed for the first time since Super Cyclone in 1999.
- Post-disaster communication: Some experts now blame it on breakdown of post-disaster communication.
- HAM radio operators:(1) Two teams of HAM radio operators from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal came to the rescue of the State which takes a lot of pride for its pioneering efforts in disaster management.(2) HAM radio was the chief mode of communication for the first several hours.
- Communications during disasters:(1) In disaster, communication becomes the first casualty.(2) 2 types of communications: Terrestrial and Satellite-based.(3) Telephone, FAX, HAM radio and VHF are part of terrestrial communication which requires infrastructure – tower for mobile phones, cable for land phones and antenna for VHF or HAM radios.(4) For satellite communications, handheld phone is enough as it does not depend on terrestrial facilities such as power, tower and antenna.(5) The VHF communication being used by the police administration had very limited reach during the disaster.
- Expert opinion: The expert emphasised that the disaster communication should have been multi-layered – if one fails, there should be an alternative channel to fall back upon.
Source
The Hindu