“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.

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.”

Blitzer responded with, “That’s the problem. Communications are really hard. It’s almost impossible, in fact, to establish communications…”

The Red Cross was not Connected

The Red Cross there had no way to communicate off the island (as of 6:45 PM Eastern). CNN reporter Deborah Feyerick reported that the Red Cross had three people in the Port au Prince area, but:

“[American Red Cross officials in the U.S.] cannot get in touch with them. They’re trying both the landlines obviously … I asked about cell phones. They’re looking into that right now.”

Why is this Still Happening?

Why? Why – after so much time has passed since 9/11, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Katrina – that the media and key relief agencies still find themselves scratching their heads trying to communicate in times of crisis? How can anyone possibly know how people are doing and what they need if we have no way to connect with them?

Did CNN think to ask the Red Cross why they didn’t have a satellite communication backup for a time like this? Is it breaking news somehow that landlines fail and cell service dies when a disaster strikes?

Did you know that portable satellite communications solutions exist today for expressly these circumstances?  Not only do they provide voice services when all other networks fail – but also Internet access – so the media and relief agencies can report on the situation and call for help. And some (such as OODAkits) also come with multiple ways to access power (including solar), because power is usually the first to go.

We are in the process of trying to help as we speak!