A Year after Haiti. Is Communication Still a Big Issue in Preparedness?

Wow. A year has already passed since that mind-numbing earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince. Ringing in my ear since has been a soundbite from Jill Dougherty, CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent, reporting the morning after:

“But when you have an operation like this, you have to be coordinated, you have to know where you’re going. And one of the big issues at the beginning was just communication. Think of it—the State Department couldn’t even talk to the officials in the Haitian government initially.”

Can We Communicate Better Today?

What if a Haiti-like event—or any disruption that knocks out communications and power—happened in your community today? Could your government officials call anyone outside the area to coordinate critical resources?  Could your county emergency managers reach the governor to identify needs and request support? Could the governor and his or her staff email or call FEMA? Would anyone be able to tweet or update the community on Facebook or other social networks? Would they be in the same boat as Haitian officials were a year ago today?

If Haiti’s leaders had portable satellite communications kits with solar power, Washington could have known what they needed within minutes—instead of hours, even days—of the 7.0 quake.

To honor the memory of those lost a year ago and to respect the lives of people everywhere, let’s resolve to be resilient. Let’ accept the fact that communications networks can and do fail—more often than we like to admit. Without adequate communications for sharing situational awareness, people unnecessarily suffer—even die. Let’s commit to having a Plan B so lack of communications is never a question for rapid response when lives are at stake.

No Portable Satcom in Haiti? How are They? What do They Need?

Watching CNN’s coverage of the devastating 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti early this evening, I found myself gasping at the thought that key relief agencies and media outlets still find themselves struggling to communicate years after Katrina and 9/11.

The Miami Herald was not Connected

When asked in the early hours after the quake hit, on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” what The Miami Herald knew of the developing situation, their Carribean correspondent Jacquie Charles essentially said they didn’t know because they couldn’t connect with anyone there.

“Well, we’re still trying to get through because all the communications is down … We have people en route to Haiti right now and we also have a ‘stringer’ on the ground, but because the communications are all down, we cannot get through to anyone at this moment.”

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