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At the Geneva office of the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), the officer on duty reads the latest telex messages from the meteorological service -"TROPICAL CYCLONE HOLLANDA .... POSITION 60 DEGREES EAST 20 DEGREES SOUTH .... EXPECTED LANDFALL ON NW COAST OF MAURITIUS WITHIN NEXT 6 HOURS ... ". DHA has the task of permanently monitoring a large number of different information sources, from news agencies and media to scientific data and reports from United Nations offices around the world, using everything today's telecommunication technology has to offer. By this process of constant monitoring, potential needs for international humanitarian assistance are identified and international resources can be mobilized in a timely fashion. In this case, a severe tropical storm approaching an island in the Indian ocean clearly posed a major threat to safety, and required immediate attention.
At the office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, the telephone rings: DHA Geneva is asking for details of the situation. Things are under control: A cyclone warning "class 3", has been issued, and the impact of the storm is expected within the next few hours.
Mauritius has worked hard over the last few years to modernize and improve its communications infrastructure. With the help of the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Development Bureau, the island has made great progress and has installed one of Africa's most modern telephone, broadcast and television networks. The modern equipment on the island has widely replaced the warning flags and radio links which were still in use when the last cyclone hit the island, more than 10 years ago.
The UNDP representative is midway through confirming that the national disaster preparedness and response plan should minimize the danger for the population when the telephone connection with Geneva ends abruptly - the line is cut.
The DHA operations room is equipped with a variety of communications tools, and the officer on duty now tries to re-establish contact by trying other office, private and mobile telephone numbers, then by fax, and via telex and even the Internet, all with no luck. It seems that Mauritius is completely cut off.
The first offers for international assistance, should it be required, arrive in DHA's Geneva office. Meanwhile, the reason for the disruption of communications is finally identified: As a standard procedure to avoid damage by the anticipated storm, the huge 12-metre diametre satellite antenna connecting Mauritius to the outside world has temporarily been placed in a horizontal position to minimize the wind load. Before doing this, the operator in Port Louis has informed his counterpart at the satellite station in France, from where all traffic is forwarded to the international networks. Only after the passage of cyclone Hollanda will the antenna be repositioned towards the telecommunications satellite above the equator, and only then will regular telecommunication links be able to be re-established.
The meteorological data received in Geneva indicate that the impact of the storm is likely to be very severe. Its centre touches Mauritius's northern coast, and the accompanying strong circular winds would surely have affected most of the island. An international disaster assessment team is put on standby, yet nobody even knows if Port Louis airport is still operational and if such a team would even be able to reach the island. Specialists consider the different risks. What if a cargo ship with dangerous goods such as chemicals for the textile industry could not leave the port in time, and a leakage of toxic matter has occurred ? What if hospitals and first aid facilities have been damaged? What if the island's stocks of medical supplies or depots of rescue equipment have been damaged or made inaccessible due to roads blocked by fallen trees or by landslides ? In all these cases, many lives may be at risk, and could only be saved by timely intervention.
News about a natural disaster of not-yet known dimensions has meanwhile reached the worldwide media. Among those most concerned about the possible impact of the disaster are friends and families of the thousands of tourists who spend their holidays on Mauritius's beautiful Indian Ocean beaches. The uncertainty caused by a complete lack of communications only exacerbates the situation. The long-term damage such a situation can cause to the tourist industry is often much greater than the physical damage to the resorts themselves. The DHA operations room receives many calls from people concerned with the well-being of tourists - but, with no telecommunications, even this centre of information exchange can not help them.
Meanwhile, all possible tools of alternative communication are being explored: the regional air traffic control centres for southern Africa and for the Indian Ocean and coast stations of the maritime radio networks are being contacted, and the networks of the meteorological services and of diplomatic services are alerted. Stations of the amateur radio service, a decentralized and highly flexible network of dedicated volunteer operators worldwide, tirelessly work to contact any station located on the island.
From a list of mobile satellite communications terminals registered in Mauritius, an operator at DHA Geneva calls one number after another. Finally, a fishing vessel is reached, but the response from the captain is not what is hoped for: "We are very happy that you've called us, we are 150 miles south-west of the Maldive Islands and have no news from home. What has happened in Mauritius?".
A few hours later, the centre of the storm has moved further west, and for Mauritius the worst should be over. However, communications remained cut, and were to remain so for the next 36 hours. When the first information finally came through, it was learned that the storm had caused severe damage to the island's infrastructure, but that, thanks to an effective preparedness plan and effective broadcast messages to alert the population and provide advice on what to do, only very few people had been injured. International assistance was not required. Upon confirmation that the airport would soon be open for traffic again, the assessment mission from DHA Geneva was quickly on its way.
The question remained, though, as to what had caused a total disruption of communications for such a long time? The problems eventually became clear. As soon as the storm had passed, the technicians at the satellite telecommunication station had tried to re-position the big antenna. The lack of electricity, due to the closure of all power stations because of widespread damage to power lines, was overcome by the use of the emergency diesel generator of the telecommunication centre. The antenna was accurately repositioned - yet for some reason no contact with the satellite and, through it, with the station in France, was possible. Closer inspection of the antenna showed the reason: branches, which the storm had torn from nearby trees, had hit the sensitive suspension of the central element of the antenna, the so called feed horn. Damage to this element meant the antenna could no longer be correctly aligned on the satellite, and for several days communication links could not be restored.
For more than 10 years prior to Cyclone Hollanda, Mauritius had not been affected by a cyclone. During this same period, the island had taken the initiative of introducing the newest telecommunication technologies. Cellular telephones provided personal mobile communications, and all international lines were concentrated in one satellite link. Because the services offered by the public networks could satisfy all the island's communication needs, all other means of communication had been subsequently considered obsolete or seen as unnecessary. No licenses for land mobile satellite terminals were therefore available, and existing radio links such as those of the meteorological service had ceased to be maintained.
The hard lessons learned from this case were quickly put to good use: in the following month, the First World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-94) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Buenos Aires unanimously adopted Resolution 7 on Disaster Communications. The resolution calls upon all ITU Member States (currently 187 nations) to facilitate the use of appropriate means of telecommunications for disaster mitigation, preparedness and prevention, and disaster response, and to assist developing countries which are prone to natural disasters to develop telecommunications-based early warning systems. It also recommends the facilitation and rapid deployment of telecommunications for disaster relief by the reduction or removal of regulatory barriers and the fostering of trans-boundary co-operation between States.
In the same year, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Kyoto unanimously endorsed this resolution. In 1995, the International Convention for the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations was drafted. This convention will be submitted to an intergovernmental conference in Geneva in early 1998.
The optimum use of all available means of telecommunication is indispensable to effective disaster preparedness. The centralization of modern networks means their vulnerability has increased: damage to one single piece of equipment had isolated Mauritius completely during the most critical time immediately following the impact of the storm. An excellent national preparedness plan, the strict implementation of a building code which gives full consideration to the effects of cyclones and, last but not least, the fact that only part of the island was affected by the storm prevented, in this particular case, the potentially tragic consequences of a loss of communications.
It is important to remember that the telecommunications network on which we all rely so unthinkingly is a fragile structure. The communications capabilities we take for granted every day can be lost in a matter of minutes during a disaster. More effective use of existing technologies, which will be promoted by the new Convention, as well as the implementation of new technologies, such as mobile satellite-based telephones, have enormous potential to improve disaster response and to save many lives.
Telecommunications technologies can play a vital role in disaster-preparedness by carrying broadcast messages to radio and television, alerting the population before a disaster strikes and giving clear advice about what action should be taken.
An effective disaster plan, combined with more efficient use of telecommunications, will help to minimize the impact of natural disasters, streamline the delivery of aid to victims, and help nations get back on their feet as quickly as possible.