The National Weather Service, FEMA, and other federal agencies have come along way in using the Internet and mobile applications to inform and interact with citizens during natural disasters.
The ability of agencies and other relief organizations to rally during a crisis, however, is frequently hamstrung by technical and organizational challenges that inevitably arise in the midst of the crises. Large volumes of traffic can overwhelm or crash websites. Key personnel may themselves be unable to access networks remotely due to the impact of disasters. And data sources can also get backlogged. Keep reading →
Tom Van Essen, New York City’s fire commissioner on September 11, 2001, recently stated that emergency communications were no better today than in 2001. But the problem isn’t a lack of advanced technology or capability. Rather, it’s an issue of too many people calling at the same time when disaster strikes, which results in flooded networks.
Disasters happen. How quickly and appropriately those in authority respond to those disasters can make the difference between a frightening but manageable situation, versus an all-out catastrophe.