Simulation in Haiti shows the potential of mobile-phone alerts in disasters
An early-warning simulation in March reached more than 50,000 people in Cap-Haïtien, a city on the north coast of Haiti, demonstrating how localized mobile alerts can help communities take early action in hurricanes, earthquakes, or other disasters.
The simulation was part of an Early Warnings for All (EW4All) mission, which also achieved a milestone: the validation of Haiti’s roadmap for scaling up multi-hazard early warning systems.
The Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provided technical support to assess Haiti’s telecommunication infrastructure and the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern the dissemination of alerts.
The event was co-organized with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Meteorological Organization, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as The World Bank.
Testing alert technology in Cap-Haïtien
A highlight of the four-day mission was the demonstration of a manually triggered, location-based, short-message service (SMS) alert under the EW4All framework.
The test was conducted in collaboration with Haiti’s national telecommunications regulator, Conseil National des Télécommunications (CONATEL), the Directorate General for Civil Protection (DGPC), and Haiti’s two mobile network operators (Digicel and Natcom).
The demonstration involved the transmission of more than 50,000 test SMS alerts bearing the official sender ID of the DGPC to mobile subscribers in Cap-Haïtien.
“It was an enriching experience for us, and we are proud to have contributed to such an important initiative, which has the potential to save many lives,” Digicel Representative Pascal Lafond said. “On that day, more than 30,000 text messages were successfully sent via our network. We look forward to exploring how cell broadcast technology could further improve the speed and efficiency of message transmission.”
The message-delivery statistics showed the potential of mobile technology for reliably sending timely warnings to all mobile subscribers. The demonstration also proved the usefulness of cell-broadcast technology for tsunami-prone areas.
Preparing for the July-to-November hurricane season, CONATEL has committed to assigning the DGPC a dedicated sender ID so that those receiving the alerts can be confident of their origin. CONATEL has also committed to authorizing the DGPC to begin sending a limited number of emergency warnings to the public through mobile network operators, starting in May.
CONATEL Representative Joseph Alberto Morose expressed the regulator’s satisfaction with the experiment, noting that all 50,000 messages were delivered at the correct time to the targeted region.
This is an ITU Development #DigitalImpactUnlocked story
About Early Warnings for All (EW4All)
As the lead of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative’s Pillar 3 on warning dissemination and communication, ITU supports countries in leveraging the power of digital networks and services to reach more people at risk. Recognizing that no single solution can serve all populations, ITU promotes a multi-channel approach tailored to different contexts and communities, using channels like radio, television, social media, sirens, mobile networks, satellite broadcast systems and more. The rapid expansion of mobile networks and services presents unprecedented opportunities for delivering timely warnings directly to those most at risk. ITU works closely with partners and stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to build more resilient and effective early warning systems.
Also read
National roll-outs of Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative begin
Discover more
National roll-outs of Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative in 2024
Discover more
Enhancing Early Warning Systems with Artificial Intelligence
Discover more
Crisis response: ITU’s response to Hurricane Beryl
Discover more