Disaster Management Community

ICT for Development Community

Solution Exchange for the Disaster Management Community Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community Consolidated Reply

Query: Communication Strategies for Disaster Preparedness and Warning- Examples; Experiences

Compiled by G. Padmanabhan and Sajan Venniyoor, Resource Persons and Nupur Arora and Gitanjali Sah, Research Associates 16 June 2007

From Anshu Sharma, Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), New Delhi Posted 1 May 2007

Dear Friends,

I work for SEEDS, a non-profit voluntary organization with a vision to make vulnerable communities resilient to disasters. We have worked extensively to empower communities across Asia. In the past decade SEEDS has been associated with disaster response, rehabilitation and preparedness measures.

Communication is an important aspect of Disaster Preparedness and among others the role of Community in disaster Preparedness, across the world is well known. Under the new Community Radio Policy – notified by the government in November 2006 – NGOs and other community groups are allowed to own and operate their own radio stations. Many NGOs have already applied for a CR (Community Radio) license and as many as 5,000 CR stations may come up in India in the next few years.

Disaster management, especially disaster preparedness and warning, is one of the main areas of programming that CR groups are looking at. It is widely believed that radio being cheap, accessible and rugged is the ideal medium for community communications, especially among the poor and marginalized groups who are particularly vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters.

Community Resource Centres (CRCs) deploying community multimedia in risk-prone areas could play a significant role in disaster preparedness, warning and mitigation. SEEDS is trying to establish such centres in Himachal Pradesh and Andaman Islands, with some successes and some challenges till date. The response of community groups, particularly schoolchildren and the youth has been very encouraging. On the other hand, our biggest challenge has been acceptance of rough-on-the-edges community based programmes in the traditionally professional broadcasting community.

I am aware that there are other groups experimenting on similar lines in different parts of the country. I would like to learn from both Disaster Management and ICTD Community members of any existing or possible initiatives that exploit the potential of ICT, particularly FM radio, TV and the internet, to provide disaster messaging to vulnerable communities before, during and after disasters. • Internationally, what kinds of communication systems are in place to ensure that disaster preparedness messages and pre-disaster warnings are transmitted to vulnerable populations in a reliable and timely manner? • What role can radio and the internet play in disaster preparedness and disaster warning? Can they be integrated to form a seamless communication system? • Are there any particular advantages – in the Indian context – to using radio and the internet for disaster messaging? Or would other Information and Communication Technologies (i.e. TV, Ham Radio, mobile telephony etc), used singly or in synergy, serve the purpose better?

I would be grateful for any examples or experiences on the use of ICT for Disaster Management, so that we can leverage on CRCs, community radio and possibly other telecom and media platforms to deliver disaster messaging to communities at risk.

Responses were received, with thanks, from

1. Sourav Howlader, TCG Software Services, Kolkata 2. Dipendra Manocha, Saksham, New Delhi 3. Shalina Mehta, Punjab University, Chandigarh 4. Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran 5. Sudip Mitra, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi 6. P. Chandran, Disaster Watch, Bangalore 7. Kumar Tiku, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi 8. Swati Mitra, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi 9. Arun Mehta, Seth Jai Parkash Mukand Lal Institute of Engineering and Technology (JMIT), Radaur (Response 1; Response 2) 10. Ravishwar Sinha, FXB International, New Delhi 11. N. Ramakrishnan, Ideosync Media Combine, Faridabad 12. Ben Grubb, Independent Consultant, Australia 13. Amit Tuteja, Tata Chemicals, Babrala 14. Max Martin, Disaster Watch, Bangalore 15. Anonymous 16. Jocelyne Josiah, UNESCO, New Delhi 17. Kris Dev, ICT and e-Gov Consultant, Chennai 18. C. Balaji, CARE, New Delhi 19. Gitanjali Sah, UNSECO, New Delhi 20. Ajit Lawrence, Indiadisaster.org, Trivandrum

Further contributions are welcome!

Summary of Responses Comparative Experiences Related Resources Responses in Full

Summary of Responses

Accepting that communication is an important aspect of Disaster Management (DM), members gave insightful responses on the use of ICT for DM and possible telecom and media platforms to deliver disaster messages to communities at risk.

Respondents shared communication systems and technologies, which have been used or are in place to ensure that disaster preparedness messages and pre-disaster warnings are transmitted to populations at risk in a reliable and timely manner; these included: • Wedge™ (The Wireless Edge)- enables users to communicate through wireless network, used effectively during 2006 Mumbai floods to help people stranded communicate with their families • Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT’s)- two-way with a dish antenna smaller than 3 meters, set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, to disseminate disaster related warnings • Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and Remote Sensing- provide versatile platforms for supporting planning and decision making by providing multilayer geo-referenced information which includes hazard zoning (to show earthquake, landslides, floods or fire hazards), incident mapping, vulnerable zones, and resources in-hand to respond, available real time analysis via satellite etc. • Mass media (especially television and radio)- can rapidly disseminate disaster preparedness and warning information to large numbers of people • Public address systems- simple way of spreading information quickly, like the Early Response System set up in Tamil Nadu, which is widely spreading to many districts of Tamil Nadu • SMS alerts- able to spread disaster warnings quickly, including in different languages • Games- can provide education on disaster preparedness • Radio browsing- internet radio program format allowing listeners and broadcasters to interact in real time and dispense authoritative disaster related information • Flags on the beach, to give the weather information to fishermen and people around the beack. • Special lighting patterns from lighthouses and radio beacons.

Discussing the potential role of radio and Internet in communicating disaster preparedness messages and warnings, members highlighted the various benefits of older and newer forms of radio and internet technologies. They noted how various organizations and individuals are using radio technologies, like FM Broadcast technology,and Ham radio to communicate information widely and quickly, due to the simple and widespread availability of these technologies. Members shared cases of coastal communities in Kerala using community radio initiatives to disseminate information, an NGO collecting information on weather, wave and tide information from websites and use it for community radio programs, and All India Radio (AIR) making daily broadcasts on the heights of wave heights using data from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services website. Additionally, discussants recommended attaching small standby transmitters and solar kits to radio stations to ensure uninterrupted service in the case of disasters.

Members felt Community Radio (CR) has a unique role to play in disaster preparedness, due to its ability to reach to the grassroots level. However, they also expressed concerns over selecting a viable business model and funding options available and emphasized that CR will most likely have its greatest impact on grassroots democracy and empowerment. Moreover, respondents felt that more research on the technology options for transmission of CR content is necessary and stressed the need for a capacity development model for setting up and running CR stations that is replicable and scalable across the country.

In addition, respondents mentioned the benefits using technologies for disseminating warnings to remote areas without transmitting towers. For example, after the 2004 Tsunami in Tamil Nadu the state government used Satellite Radio to disseminate information on relief efforts.

Members listed internet based technologies like Wi-Fi technology using TCP-IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software to data rapidly across long distances, to communicate DM related messages. During relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina in the United States, various groups used Wi-Fi to connect people affected by the disaster and relief workers.

Along with discussing the benefits of using internet and radio systems, discussants mentioned other technologies and approaches. One suggestion was using Village Knowledge Centres in a ‘Hub and Spoke model’ to disseminate information, education and warnings on disasters. Members highlighted the successful experience of the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry employing this model. They also mentioned adopting the Sri Lankan ‘e-tuktuk’ service that provides Dm education through a traveling multimedia presentation.

Respondents also made several suggestions for effectively communicating during disasters. They felt that peer communication is a good approach and needs integrating at national, state, district and community level. Another suggestion was to create a database of relief measures and supplies available to enable a quicker response. They also recommended devising systems and training modules that do no exclude certain population from receiving the messages, such as the hearing or visually imparted. Additionally, respondents advised institutionalizing communication systems, like creating a process for informing communities downstream of upstream flooding

Finally, discussants opined India requires a mix of modern and traditional communication systems, to meet the needs of both rural and urban populations. They stressed that Internet and radio technologies have the capacity to serve as effective communicate channels for disaster messaging, along with more grassroots level approaches like community radio and village loudspeaker systems and that organizations and governments need to asses the various technologies and approaches to select the most appropriate system.

Comparative Experiences

Maharashtra

The Wireless Edge (from Sourav Howlader, TCG Software Services, Kolkata) In Mumbai during the 2006 floods when the landline telephone system was down and the mobile phone towers had exhausted their capacity, a software product called Wedge™ (The Wireless Edge) enabled a software company to communicate through wireless network. Workers in the Mumbai office were able to use the Wedge™ to send messages to their families when trapped by the floors. Read more

Tamil Nadu

Using World Space Satellite Radio for Effective Warning Dissemination (from Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran) During the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the Relief Commissioner in Tamil Nadu effectively used World Space Satellite Radio™ to coordinate relief management. The Commissioner used it to address the public and enable information to reach rural parts of the state during the crisis. This approach worked well for warning dissemination to the remotest corners of the state and for deep-sea fisherman. The prompt information sharing resulted in better emergency management. Read more

Every Village a Knowledge Centre Initiative (from Sudip Mitra and P. Chandran National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi) The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) set up 13 Village Resource Centers and 40 Village Knowledge Centers. The state level hub, located at MSSRF is a knowledge resource that creates and maintains websites and databases for the local hubs. The hub is linked to Village Resource Centres (VRCs) which in turn are linked to VKCs for a cluster of villages. Here ICT is use for development efforts in the remotest of villages. Read more

From Swati Mitra, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi

Disaster Preparedness Training Saves Lives in Samiyarpettai District In village Pudukuppam of Cuddalore district 102 people died during the 2004 Tsunami, however in Samiyarpettai, one of the most vulnerable villages, only 22 died This was because the villagers received disaster preparedness training under the UNDP-GoI Disaster Risk Management Programme, including on communicating warning messages, formation of village task forces and mock drills. Proper disaster communication and training helped thus saved many lives in Samiyarpettai. Read more

Effective Early Warning System in Cuddalore District In Cuddalore district, Mirallur village has an early warning system for floods. It is very simple- a wireless set is attached to the public address system. The wireless has a 3-day back up battery and automatically switches on if anyone speaks from the other side. At one end it is connected to the Early Warning System (EWS) in the village and at the other end to the control room, in the District Collectors office. The system connects all 54 villages across the district creating an effective communication network.

Pondicherry

Village Knowledge Centre Disseminating Disaster Warnings (from Arun Mehta, JMIT Radaur, New Delhi; response 1) The first Village Knowledge Centre (VKC) established by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to provide information/knowledge to villagers on various issues such as fish movement, the height of waves and weather forecast. MSSRF are currently working to link VKCs with the state’s Early Warning System using advanced technology. This innovative attempt at community level disaster preparedness is helping to empower communities and mitigate the impact of future disasters. Read more

Kerala

“Radio Alakal” Provides Disaster Warnings for Fishing Communities (from Ajit Lawrence, Indiadisaster.org, Trivandrum) Radio Alakal was developed after the 2004 Tsunami to make fishing safer and provide quick disaster warnings to fishing communities, particularly during rough seasons like the Monsoon. The fishing communities now tune into this radio station to get information on the weather, tidal heights, sea under currents, etc. By providing timely information, the radio broadcasts have become an effective communication tool. Read more

International

United States

Using Wi-Fi Following Hurricane Katrina (from Arun Mehta, JMIT Radaur, New Delhi) In the weeks after the hurricane, when telecommunications had broken down, "Radio Response" offered Wi-Fi Internet connectivity to residents and relief workers in Mississippi. They deployed a wireless long- haul IP network and set up a distribution network, through local satellite IP or terrestrial IP bandwidth delivered via a wireless backhaul. It also provided small-scale wireless ISP service. Thus, Radio Response created a critical communication network during the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Read more

Sri Lanka

E-tuktuk Used to Raise Awareness on Disaster Management (from Ben Grubb, Independent Consultant, Australia) In Kothmale, a community radio organization runs a self-contained mobile telecentre and radio broadcasting unit housed within a three wheeled motorcycle- an “e-tuktuk.” The e-tuktuk provides communities in extremely remote areas access to appropriate information, such as disaster warnings and awareness workshops facilitated by the loudspeakers mounted on the roof and a multimedia projector. The e-tuktuk project has given isolated communities a regular communication network. Read more

Related Resources

Recommended Organizations

Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), New Delhi (from Anshu Sharma) D-11, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi 110017; Tel: 91-11-26498371, 41748008; Fax: 91-11-26498372; http://www.seedsindia.org/ Establishing Community Resource Centres (CRCs), in disaster risk prone areas that could play a significant role in communicating information on disaster preparedness, warnings and mitigation

From Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, New Delhi North Block, Central Secretariat, New Delhi 110001; Tel.: 23092011/161; Fax: 23093750/2763; [email protected]; http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/ In collaboration with ISRO and UNDP developed a mechanism using Very Small Aperture Terminals to disseminate disaster warnings across the country.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore ISRO Headquarters, Antariksh Bhavan, New BEL Road, Bangalore 560094 Karnataka; Tel.: 91-80- 23415474; Fax: 91-80-2341-5229/2253; [email protected] Working with the MHA and UNDP created a mechanism using “Very Small Aperture Terminals” to communicate disaster warning messages across the country.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003; Tel.: 46532333; Fax: 24627612; www.undp.org.in/; [email protected] In collaboration with the MHA and ISRO developed an instrument using “Very Small Aperture Terminals” to disseminate disaster information and warnings across the country.

M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai (from Sudip Mitra, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi) 3rd Cross Street, Institutional Area, Taramani, Chennai 600113 Tamil Nadu; Tel.: 91-44-22542698, 22541229; Fax: 91-44-22541319; http://mssrf.org/tsunami/saving_measures.htm Uses the hub and spoke model for communicating on weather, wave and tide information, and disaster warnings through community radio and loudspeakers

From Ben Grubb, Independent Consultant, Australia

Kothmale Community Radio Station, Sri Lanka Station Controller, Kothmale Community Radio, Riverside, Mawathura VIA Gampola, Sri Lanka; Tel.: 94 812-3504-22; [email protected]; http://www.kothmale.org/disaster/ (in Sinhalese) Raises awareness amongst communities on issues relating to disaster preparedness both through traditional FM broadcasts and an “e-tuktuk”

E-Tuktuk Project, Sri Lanka Contact: Mr. Sunil Wijesinghe, Station Controller, Kothmale Community Radio, Riverside, Mawathura VIA Gampola, Sri Lanka; Tel: 94-812-3504-22; [email protected]; http://www.etuktuk.net/etuktuk_techology.htm Auto rickshaw that houses power generator, and internet and FM radio transmitting equipment; travels to villages in the locale where it can provide information like disaster warnings

GATR Technologies, United States 3120 Leeman Ferry Road, Huntsville, Alabama 35801 USA; Tel: 1-256-382-4013, 1-256-885-4240; [email protected]; http://www.gatr.com/solutions.html Develops GATR-Com antennas and systems that provide quick deployment, high-bandwidth Internet networks, used during Hurricane Katrina to communicate following the disaster

Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies (LIRNEasia), Sri Lanka 12 Balcombe Place, Columbo 08, Sri Lanka; Tel.: 94-0-11-493 9992/40290; Fax: 94-011-267 5212; [email protected]; http://www.lirneasia.net/category/disaster/ Archives stories reports and research papers on the use of ICTs for Ddsaster preparedness and warning

Risk Management Cell, Tata Chemicals. Mumbai (from Amit Tuteja) Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Fort, Mumbai 400001 Maharashtra; Tel: 022-6665-8282; Fax: 022- 6665-8143/4; http://www.tatachemicals.com/ Has effective communication systems in place for the employees inside and outside chemical plants, system could be replicated for disaster preparedness communication network

From Max Martin, Disaster Watch, Bangalore

Pondicherry Multipurpose Social Service Society (PMSSS), Pondicherry 14th St. Therese Street, Archbishop's House, Pondicherry 605001; Tel.: 91-413-4201190; Fax: 91-413- 4200190; [email protected]; http://www.pmsss.org.in/ict.htm Initiated steps to bring ICT to Tsunami affected villages- informs and warns people in advance of any imminent disaster through Village Information Centres (VICs)

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad "Ocean Valley", P.B No.21, IDA Jeedimetla P.O, Hyderabad 50005 Andhra Pradesh; Tel.: 91-40- 23895000/2 (24 hrs); Fax: 91-40-23892910; [email protected] To mitigate the impact of disasters provides information and advisory services through sustained ocean observations and constant improvements in services through systematic/focused research

All India Radio Resources (AIR), New Delhi Akashvani Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001; Tel: 91-11-23421300; Fax: 91-11-23421061; http://www.resourcesair.com/index.html Oceanic information provided by PMSSS and INCOIS disseminated through AIR through three daily bulletins broadcast on the radio

Press Trust of India Limited (PTI), New Delhi (from Anonymous) PTI Building, 4, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110001; Tel.: 23716621-24, 23313196, 23316355, 23315924, 23312580; Fax 23716527; [email protected]; http://www.ptinews.com/AboutPti/Organisation.htm India’s largest news agency, non-profit sharing cooperative owned by the country’s newspapers could be used to quickly disseminate information on disaster preparedness and warnings

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), Barbados (from Jocelyne Josiah, UNESCO, New Delhi) Building 1 Manor Lodge, Lodge Hill, St Michael, Barbados; Tel.: 246-425-0386; Fax: 246-425-8854; [email protected]; http://www.cdera.org/ Organization that serves the countries aims to manage disasters in the region through preparedness planning, including effective communication

CARE India, New Delhi (from C. Balaji) 27, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi 110016; Tel.: 91-11-26566060/26564101; Fax: 91-11- 26564081/26529671; [email protected]; http://www.careindia.org/ManageHome/Home.aspx Exploring activities/initiatives for a feasibility study on setting up a Community Radio program on disaster preparedness

Disaster Watch, Bangalore (from P. Chandran) Global Coordinator, Swayam Shikshan Prayog, 5th Floor, Bhardwadi Hospital, Bhardwadi Road, Andheri West, Mumbai 400058 Maharsthra; Tel: 91-22-22907586, 26771132; Fax: 91-22-26771132; [email protected]; http://www.disasterwatch.net/activities. Aids grassroots women's collectives to exchange learnings and evaluating disaster response, efforts, including documenting strategies to recover from disasters (i.e. communication)

Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre, Chennai (from Kumar Tiku, UNDP, New Delhi) No. 54/1, Josier Street, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034 Tamil Nadu; Tel.: 91-44 2826-4141/5151; Fax: 91-44 2826 6161; [email protected]; http://www.tntrc.org/ Centre working on designing a reconstruction process that reduces vulnerabilities and increases community resilience to specific local multi-hazards, is using ICTs in the process

Recommended Documentation

From Kumar Tiku, UNDP, New Delhi

Focus on Early Warning Systems Sangamam Issue 14; February 2007 http://www.tntrc.org/news_letter/200714/Sangamam_Issue_14.pdf (366 KB) Newsletter with articles on the importance of Early Warning Systems in disaster risk reduction programs

United Nations Development Programme News December Newsletter; 2006 http://data.undp.org.in/stories/DecNewsletter.pdf (Size: 365 KB) Articles highlighting importance of community based preparedness efforts in disasters, including use of HAM radio, existing telecommunication systems, ect. to communicate during disasters

From Max Martin, Disaster Watch, Bangalore

Miles 2 Go Edited by Max Martin and Satya Sivaraman; India Disaster Watch; 2006 http://www.indiadisasters.org/miles_2_go.pdf (Size: 9.94 MB) Articles that examine the future relevance of the rehabilitation measures two years after the Tsunami in terms of local ownership, development needs resilience and preparedness.

Saviour Waves By Sajan Venniyoor; Time and Tide; December 23, 2005 http://59.92.116.99/website/RDC/docsweb/community-radio/saviour-waves.doc Article informs how radio can warn, prepare, inform and empower communities facing disasters

From Arun Mehta, JMIT Radaur, New Delhi

Radio Response's Activities following Hurricane Katrina (Version 1.1) By Jeff Allen; FCC Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks; March 6, 2006 http://www.fcc.gov/eb/hkip/GSpeakers060306/ACT1055.pdf (2263 KB) Report gives an account of the use of ICTs, especially radio to communicate information volunteers, donations and services in the weeks following hurricane Katrina.

FM Broadcast Wikipedia; June 14, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM_radio Article on the technology that uses frequency modulation (FM) to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio, has been used to communicate on disaster preparedness and warning messages

Step by Step: A Guide To Radio Browsing (on the Internet) (from Jocelyn Josiah, UNESCO, New Delhi) Community Multi-Media Centres, UNESCO http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5590&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Guide to type of radio programme, where presenters gather information in response to listeners’ queries and during the programme “visits” sources to answers the questions (i.e. disaster efforts)

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol) Source: The Linux Information Project; [email protected] Is the suite of communications protocols that is used to connect hosts on the Internet and on most other computer networks as well.

Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT’s) (from Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran) Wikipedia; May 28, 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VSAT Article on a 2-way satellite ground station, with a dish antenna less than 3 meters; the GoI and UNDP has used technology to disseminate disaster related warnings

Community Based Disaster Reduction and Recovery through Participation of Communities and Local Self-Government: Disaster Risk Management Project Document (from Swati Mitra, UNDP, New Delhi) Natural Disaster Management Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi; 2002 http://data.undp.org.in/dmweb/pro-doc/ProgDocV2.0.pdf (Size: 93.8 KB) Project document outlines strategy and activities of the UNDP-GoI disaster risk mitigation project, including training communities on disaster preparedness and effective communication systems

Alakal Radio (from Ajit Lawrence, Indiadisaster.org, Trivandrum) Kerala Swathanthra Malsya Thozhilali Federaton http://www.alakal.net/aboutus.htm Note on Kerala Independent Fishworkers Federation’s radio programme- Alakal, which disseminates information on tides, weather conditions and disaster warnings

From Gitanjali Sah, UNESCO, New Delhi

Information Technology and Natural Disaster Management in India By Dr. Alok Gupta; GISdevelopment.net http://www.gisdevelopment.net/aars/acrs/2000/ts8/hami0001pf.htm Article on how Information Technology in the form of the Internet, GIS, Remote Sensing, etc. can help in planning and implementation of hazards reduction, through effective communication

ICT for Disaster Risk Reduction- The Indian Experience Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Division http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/WCDRDOCS/ICT%20for%20Disaster%20Risk%20Reduction.pdf (1294 KB) Note on the National Emergency Communication Plan that integrates ICTs into the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives

National Early Warning System: Sri Lanka (Participatory Concept Paper for the Design of an Effective All-Hazard -A Public Warning System) By Rohan Samarajiva, et al.; LIRNEasia, Sri Lanka http://www.lirneasia.net/wp-content/news-sl.pdf (Size: 301 KB) Informs about the need to communicate information about threats with sufficient time and clarity so communities can take action to mitigate the impact of a natural disaster

Maharashtra Communication Network for Disaster Management By N. K. Chhibber; International Telecommunication Union Website http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/pdf/fg7/mah001.html Paper on a disaster management communication network in Maharashtra, working on issues such as disaster awareness and education

Toolkit for Setting up Rural Knowledge Centres: As Experienced through the Information Village Research Project and Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy (from Nupur Arora, Research Associate) M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) http://mssrf.org/tsunami/rkc_toolkit.pdf (Size: 434.9 KB) Outlines the guiding principles, organizational considerations, implementation and sustainability aspects of setting up Knowledge Centres, which can be used for communications during disasters

Recommended Portals and Information Bases

Tsunami Response Watch (from Max Martin, Disaster Watch, Bangalore) www.tsunamiresponsewatch.org One-stop humanitarian website that pools together information on tsunami response efforts in India helps in communicating disaster preparedness and warnings

A Community Based Scheme to Meet Disaster (from P. Chandran, Disaster Watch, Bangalore) http://www.disasterwatch.net/Best%20Practices/MSSRF.htm Site provides information on Knowledge Centres that are active in various coastal villages to create awareness on disaster preparedness among community members.

Geographic Information System (GIS) (from Amit Tuteja, Risk Management Cell, Tata Chemicals, Babrala, Uttar Pradesh) http://www.gis.com/showcase/government.html Portal with information on how GIS, a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data can be used to plan and communicate strategies for disaster situations

Ham Radio (from Arun Mehta, JMIT Radaur, New Delhi) http://www.hamradioindia.org/ Portal containing information on Ham radio and operators, including on communicating with other Ham radio users during disasters

Recommended Tools and Technologies

Wedge™ (The Wireless Edge) (from Sourav Howlader, TCG Software Services, Kolkata) http://www.wirelessedge.ca/index.jsp Wedge™ enables users to communicate through wireless network, has been suggested that this could be used as a model for communication for disasters.

Wi- Fi Alliance™ (from Arun Mehta, JMIT Radaur, New Delhi) http://www.wi-fi.org/ Technology that effortlessly provides tens of megabits a second over tens of kilometers has the potential to be used to communicate during disasters

World Space Satellite Radio™ (from Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran) http://www.worldspace.com/whatisit/overview.html Technology uses two , AfriStar™ and AsiaStar™, to broadcast digital-quality audio channels around the world, used during 2004 Tsunami to communicate on relief efforts

Recommended Communities and Networks

Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network in Staffordshire, Disaster and Emergency Management on the Internet (from Gitanjali Sah, UNESCO, New Delhi) http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/disaster.htm#ham Website that provides exhaustive information on Disaster and Emergency, includes a list of International Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Organizations.

Related Past Consolidated Replies

Setting Up and Running a Community Radio Station, from Lakshmi K. Tikoo and Ashish Sen, Aga Khan Foundation, VOICES, Bangalore (Experiences) ICT for Development Community. Issued 21 March 2007 Experiences and advice on setting up and operating community radio and internet radio stations

Responses in Full

Sourav Howlader, TCG Software Services, Kolkata Communication during disasters is one of the most important topics to deal with. Undoubtedly community radio is playing a vital role to it. Let me share an experience we faced in such emergency.

Mumbai faced bad time last year. City was out of communication for sometime. Even the mobile phone tower was exhausted with its capacity of concurrent users. But people frantically wanted to send messages to their relatives, who are outside of this lurid environment.

We have tried to reap benefit out of the kind of revolution in wireless communication in India. TCG Software Services has its software product Wedge™ (The Wireless Edge) hosted in internet. Wedge™ is having multiple gateways to access rest of the world. The communication problem of Mumbai is very much localized. Wedge™ enables users to communicate through wireless network, where it is in order. It worked tremendously for TCG office in Mumbai. Our colleagues trapped in the situation used Wedge™ to send their message.

This is just an example where a solution-in-need can help to elude to survival.

Dipendra Manocha, Saksham, New Delhi

I have been working in the area of Disaster Preparedness and have used Information and Communication Technology (ICT) especially for dissemination of Early Warning Messages.

The point which should be kept in mind for use if ICT for Disaster Preparedness and Warning Messaging is that, the messages should be received and understood by all, including the population carrying any kind of impairment. Among this category, besides sensory impairment, cognitive impairment also poses challenges where message may not be in text but in form of symbols, which are understood. This needs regular and repeated disaster preparedness trainings.

ICT can play an important role to meet such circumstances. It is clear that only one way of communicating the information is not enough. If radio alone is used, what happens to persons with hearing impairment?

Many people argue that people around will help these categories of persons but it is again clear based on experiences that at the time of crises often persons with impairments are left behind. Every one runs for their lives and in such times people who do not have the right information lose critical time to save themselves.

Similarly if information is transmitted only through Short Message Service (SMS) or any other visual method we need to make sure that this information may be made available in audio format too.

In Netherland, warning system for floods was based on sound warnings. Thus it was changed in due course considering the needs of persons with hearing impairment.

Besides the warning systems, training materials need to be prepared in accessible formats so that these trainings and reference materials are accessible to all.

Hokaido in Japan has home for mentally challenged. An Earthquake struck this place everybody at the home were saved since repeated instructions to the inhabitants of this home is a regular exercise and every one know what they had to do if such disaster strikes.

Hope these examples help.

Shalina Mehta, Punjab University, Chandigarh

In our enthusiasm to lap on to new technology, we often tend to ignore traditional systems of communication that communities have harnessed for years.

There is no systematic information available as to what were the effective means of communication these communities practiced to inform each other of the impending disaster. We have also not made any attempt to document the knowledge available with traditional communities to interpret signals coming from nature; for example, the kind of distress sound signals produced by birds, the receding water levels etc. There is a plethora of knowledge available in local settings that we should resource for effective implementation of any communication strategies that we are likely to propagate for the future.

Various ethnographic documents generated by anthropologists for local communities over the years have some evidence available that we can use as pilot information. The use of modern technology, particularly radio messages, is critical in such situations and it is important that we develop local frequency networks for informing communities. Disaster warning signals such as sirens need to be in place, but we have to evolve effective communication strategies to educate people about the meaning of these sirens. Local leadership has to be trained to evacuate people without generating unwarranted panic. This would involve networking not only at generating effective communication packages but also adequate local level training programmes.

Abhilash Panda, UNDP Tehran, Iran

The topic above is one of the key factors which cannot be overlooked and I am very happy that members have started addressing the issue.

Timely and Effective Communication is one of the most critical parts for Disaster Preparedness and Warning Dissemination. I would not be focusing on the existing mechanisms, but would like to draw the attention of the members on using Satellite Technology for effective warning dissemination. While working with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) & other national ministries under the UNDP Disaster Risk Programme, we had developed a mechanism using Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT’s) to disseminate warnings across the countries without depending on any other medium. The plan was to use VSATS to send warnings to remote corners by installing a receiver and a trigger with an announcement speaker for disseminating the messages. The warning will be triggered automatically from the National Emergency Operations Centre located at MHA with inputs from International Maritime Organization (IMO), Central Water Commission (CWC), ISRO and other focal organizations. Somehow the project could not take its shape as the funds required were huge and needed a long term investment.

Keeping in mind the above experience and the lessons learnt, we started looking for available mediums within the country. The best that we could agree upon was World Space Satellite Radio. I believe Satellite Radio is one of the best technologies for disseminating warnings to the remotest corners, in absence of Line of sight, in deep seas (for fisherman) etc. World space is already an established medium and at most one needs to do is to buy a channel and I believe if done by the Government would be more effective. The Relief Commissioner of Tamil Nadu effectively used World Space Radio during the 2005 Tsunami for relief management, to address public and to make his voice reach to the rural parts of Tamil Nadu during the crisis.

Well, there are a few obstacles with World Space Radio's, the conventional radio is already a household name in the country and it would be difficult to convince all segments of community to buy yet another receiver just for warnings. Various Ministries such as Agricultural/ Fisheries/Road & Transport/ Metrological/ private sector can come together by providing various other messages, which can further strengthen the need of Satellite radio's to the rural communities.

I hope I have been able to explain the usage of available technology, but I strongly believe that with more ideas and views of our members we can certainly reach to a conclusion on the best methodology & practices.

Sudip Mitra, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi

I would like to thank Solution Exchange to come up with such a nice forum to discuss on many important issues associated with disaster management and without any doubt COMMUNICATION is one of those.

Already many ideas have been shared by our respected members.

As we all know that during disaster situation the faster the information gets communicated or disseminated the lesser are the losses of live and property. So, the challenge is to have a simplistic yet faster mode of communication systems which could reach to the people without much delay.

In response to Mr. Anshu Sharma's email, I would like to submit that perhaps a 'Hub and Spoke' model could be a very useful one for communication for disaster preparedness. As most of the times it is the remote areas where majority of the poor and affected people live. And this is mostly due to the fact that the communication network is very poor or at times it does not exist at all in those kinds of areas.

It has been seen that in such areas where people are poor and do not have much access to various forms of sophisticated communication systems or media, it's the Hub and Spoke model which works well. One successful example is MS Swaminathan Foundation's effort in the coastal areas of Tamilnadu State

P. Chandran, Disaster Watch, Bangalore

I want to recommend a paper, "A Community Based Scheme to Meet Disaster" written by me.The paper provides information on the Village Knowledge Centres set by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) which has been working in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry since 1992 focusing on biodiversity and ICT for development.

These Knowledge Centres are active in various coastal villages to create awareness on disaster preparedness among community members.To read the paper please visit: http://www.disasterwatch.net/Best%20Practices/MSSRF.htm

You may also visit www.disasterwatch.net for more information.

Kumar Tiku, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi

The role of the good old humble loud speaker in announcing disaster warnings is well known and should not be minimised. More recently, one has heard of the use of PC-enabled information kiosks, web-based resource inventories, ham radio as well as a form of community radio piloted from time to time in Orissa, Gujarat and Kalinjam, Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) as part of the Government of India-UNDP support to the community-based disaster preparedness initiative.

These are all examples of the use of first and second generation ICTs as a part of the preparedness strategy in various states. I am sure there is information available on the Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Centre website that answers at least some parts of the query. In particular, you may wish to check out the special edition of their newsletter “Sangamam”, on the theme of early warning systems. Here’s the link http://www.tntrc.org/news_letter/200714/Sangamam_Issue_14.pdf

You might also want to check out relevant articles in the current issue of “News”, UNDP India newsletter that dealt only with the theme of disaster preparedness. Won’t bother you with the web-link lest I am seen as a rank pamphleteer out to advertise my own wares. However, for a more informed guidance of what works and what doesn’t from among a menu of ICT options, not least from the standpoint of women and socio-economically disadvantaged sections – invariably the sections that bear the brunt of any disaster – I suppose we might want to look up more detailed research and evaluation studies.

On the specific subject of community radio, tantalizingly relevant as it is, there are a set of issues that remain in the air, largely unaddressed, more so in the context of income-poor and voice-deficient communities. There is the issue of the most viable business model for CR that is often overlooked and lost in the excitement generated by the advent of the new Community Radio guidelines ( the new guidelines are, unarguably many times more progressive with obvious implications for grassroots democracy and empowerment. )

Take the recurrent question of the source of capital cost for setting up CR stations. In this, there is a clear tendency to look at the world of multi-bi donors, Bretton Woods institutions, government agencies and who knows even angel investors. It is axiomatic that this financing route is fraught with discernible potholes in the form of a lurking fear of ‘dependency syndrome’, or even the strings that could come attached to such aid/grants/loans. As citizens and CR enthusiasts, we really need to do better in terms of a more focused thinking on getting this one right.

Next, I would like to flag the need to do more work on technology options for transmission of CR content. I am not too certain if we have presented enough options in this area to the potential CR licensees. Related, is the issue of a model of capacity development (for setting up and running CR stations) that is replicable and scalable, commensurate to the potential of CR expansion in the country. Is community content that is competitive in the news entertainment marketplace a desirable/doable goal by itself, and, therefore, does it follow that for dissemination/transmission, we can continue to be innovative and inventive (tape recorders, cable-casting et al as practised in various pilot initiatives in India, come to mind) given the hard socio-economic context?

Are we, as CR advocates ready and willing to advocate for the trade-offs (AIR mode of transmission versus your own transmitter, for instance)? These are some of the concerns that come to mind. May I reiterate that radio in any form, and most definitely in the form of community radio, continues to be full of potential for social change communication in general and disaster preparedness in particular. The question is, what will it take to give it a real chance in our country? Those of us witness to the halcyon days of radio – the swinging seventies and until the mid-eighties -- will bear me out.

Swati Mitra, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New Delhi

I had recently been to Cuddalore district's Mirallur village, and I saw an amazing communication system set up by UNDP for early warning to the villagers, should a flood situation arise. It is a very simple system where a wireless set with a public address system having a back up battery for three days, that gets automatically switched on if the collector speaks from the other side. Its connected to all 54 villages where Early Warning System (EWS) is installed and it is connected to the control room, in the collectorate.

What was more interesting was that the villagers also knew how to operate it! It would actually be great if members could go and visit this place! Also the Tamil Nadu Tsunami Resource Center could be contacted for more information.

Arun Mehta, Arun Mehta, Seth Jai Parkash Mukand Lal Institute of Engineering and Technology (JMIT), Radaur (response 1)

I want to recommend a report “Radio Response's activities following Hurricane Katrina” written by Jeff Allen. This is a very frank account of what happened after Hurricane Katrina, when telecommunications totally broke down, as it typically does after a disaster. To read the report please click here, http://wiki.saschameinrath.com/images/6/61/CUWiN_Post-Katrin%20a_Report.pdf

My profound gratitude to Jeff Allen for writing the Katrina report. This document, albeit long, is a must- read; it makes no effort at embellishment, and is full of good advice for next time.

The technical stuff of the report is actually quite brilliant. It describes how minor changes in software, configuration or distributions could make them far more useful in situations where connectivity is fragile, which is in any case the norm in rural South Asia.

The report describes in detail all the problems, even in a well-equipped country like the US, when you start to organize disaster relief after the event. The price of the delay is clear. If communications can be restored within hours, you can actually save lives. If it takes days, you won't save many lives, but you can help people find their loved ones, and also material relief. The longer the delay, the less valuable the effort.

The only way communications can be restored within hours, is if the local community set up the network in the first place. In that case, contracts with long-distance connectivity providers, owners of good antenna sites, etc are all in place, and do not need to be negotiated from start. People trained in setting up the network are also locally available. We should therefore call for increased effort to promote community networks in disaster-prone areas (all of South Asia, basically)

Because this may take a while to achieve, we should seriously consider organizing a group that can react in the event of a disaster. If we heed the advice in the note, and prepare properly, we should indeed be able to reestablish connectivity after a disaster within days. An annual budget of $10,000 is peanuts, compared to the misery we would help reduce.

Arun Mehta, Seth Jai Parkash Mukand Lal Institute of Engineering and Technology (JMIT), Radaur (response 2)

Adding to my earlier response, I would like to say that rural environments are often clusters of houses. Villages or segments are separated by large areas that are very sparsely populated. Using one large transmitter to reach a hundred villages is far more expensive than the distributed approach, in which mini transmitters costing only a couple of hundred rupees are placed in each area of concentrated habitation, and these transmitters are interconnected using Wi Fi, a technology that effortlessly provides tens of megabits a second over tens of kilometers. The WiFi network would run TCP-IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) software, standard Internet or Intranet technology.

The advantages of this approach are many: • Cost -- at least an order of magnitude less • Decentralization -- you can broadcast from any village to all or selected villages, and even have panel discussions with panelists and interactive audience distributed over the villages • Robustness -- with a central transmitter, if its roof collapses or flood waters cover it, the radio station is gone (same problem as with the telecom). In the distributed model, you may lose some transmitters, but the others will be able to route around them and reconnect, quickly identifying which nodes have gone done, and so are likely to be badly hit. It is in any case far easier to disaster harden a smaller transmitter, so even the likelihood of damage is greater in the centralized case. • Revenue Model: The WiFi network can be used for several other purposes besides FM radio, such as distance learning, telemedicine, thus amortizing the equipment faster.

The experience after Hurricane Katrina is relevant here. Three technologies worked beautifully there:

• Ham radio. A ham license was like a free pass to go anywhere in the disaster area. Why, because you brought instant communications, with an international community attuned to the handling of disasters. Nothing replaces ham radio during a disaster • FM radio. Why? Because everybody has FM receivers. This is the best way to reach the survivors of a disaster • WiFi. The quickest, cheapest way to extend the reach of the above two, as well as to provide Internet connectivity and telephony

Ravishwar Sinha, FXB International, New Delhi

Timely Communication is a very important to mitigate the impact of disaster and manage it thereafter. I am indeed thankful for the discussion which is very informative.

Modern technology can forecast many disaster events quite ahead of time, this is a boon for the managers of the disaster responses.

Radio is the undisputed leader in reaching the information to the populace and the people charged with the management of the disaster situation, which in India are largely Government functionaries and NGOs.

Peer communication is the most effective may of community communication and there should be an indexing at the national and state/district level of the key volunteers/functionaries who could be contacted to spread the information in time before the event and in the management after the events.

There should be a database of the relief measures and supplies that could be available to the people who can access these as quickly as possible without the hassles.

Logistics management and procurement is a big challenge. Needed is a centrally, at the state or national level, a database for the essential supplies that could be used without the need for the procedures of procurement, which sometimes is the biggest impediment and many times a source of wrong doings.

Some areas are annually prone to disasters such as floods and cyclones. Streamlining and updating of the signals can be very helpful. For example the upstream flooding knowledge and the extent can be very useful in mitigating the impact downstream. Not a lot of technology is required, mostly it boils down to passing down the information from one to the next village to the right people to take the lead in the community. Mobile telephones penetration in the rural community is a big asset and development of local networking and team formation in the community would be very help full.

Development of community ownership and planning needs to be more encouraged. Reliable timely information is a big asset that can help foster such ownership.

Communication channels of reporting and monitoring would also deter those elements who take advantage of the situations for ulterior gains. Thank you for the opportunity to participate.

N. Ramakrishnan, Ideosync Media Combine, Faridabad

Arun Mehta makes an excellent case for the use of radio technology in general in disaster preparedness; and for Wi Fi technology in particular.

To the advantages he lists - cost, decentralization, robustness and multipurpose use - may I add this fact that Wi Fi in the 2.4GHz band is deli censed in India, and does not need any government permissions. For those who weren't yet aware of this fact, this must be sweet news, given that community FM radio - our other great hope - still has a mire of regulatory permissions governing it. (Not to mention annual spectrum fees, a bone of much contention).

That makes Wi Fi a very appealing prospect for rural ICT network - as, indeed, is being implemented by numerous agencies across India.

Ben Grubb, Independent Consultant, Australia

Some excellent contributions here that I'd like to build upon by introducing the role that mobile units can play in disaster communications and awareness.

The Kothmale Community Radio Station in Sri Lanka (http://www.kothmale.org/disaster/) raises awareness amongst the community on issues relating to disaster preparedness both through traditional FM broadcasts and the use of the etuktuk, an auto rickshaw that houses a full array of telecentre, power generation, internet and FM radio transmitting equipment (http://www.etuktuk.net). The e-tuktuk travels to villages in the locale where it can provide appropriate knowledge through awareness workshops facilitated by the loudspeakers mounted on the roof and a multimedia projector.

Disasters strike haphazardly and the ability to mobilise communications where they are most needed in a timely and effective manner has already been well highlighted in this thread. The benefits of mobility in this situation are pretty obvious.

Disaster preparedness is only a small role that the etuktuk plays in the overall operations at Kothmale and its ability to get CR communicators out of the studio and into the field has resulted in huge gains in terms of visibility, support and rapport building with the community at large.

Now if we could just get an inflatable VSAT system fitted to the roof racks. (http://www.gatr.com/)

Also, LIRNEasia has been of significant support to Kothmale and you'll find some interesting research on their website (http://www.lirneasia.net/category/disaster/)

Amit Tuteja, Tata Chemicals, Babrala

Until now, lot has been discussed and shared about the Disaster preparedness & warning systems from this platform. As we all know that Information & Communication Technology (ICT) systems play a very crucial role for institutionalizing communication strategies for disaster preparedness & warnings. In addition to it, I would like to share my views & suggestions on this subject.

In my view, in our country's context, there are requirements for both the methods, modern/ advance as well as traditional ones. Because in the present scenario, India represents mixed blend of rural & urban both. So proper balance of age old practices of communication like tribal’s drumming signals, trained fast running messengers also have a role to play, along with the modern internet, satellites and so on. The balance need to be planned and provided at local levels based on specific local requirements.

Here I would like to share one small example of my organization, Tata Chemicals. Where inside the company/ works premises earlier we had group paging, walkie-talkie system in place, now we are shifting to public addressal, group SMS, intercom alerts. And for outside the plant (cascading alert to the surrounding community), we have siren system, balloon blowing indications etc.

Apart from it, village volunteers have been trained to communicate warning further via drum beats, showing the RED angochha from height etc.

Now a days Mobile services are doing well, Mobile services providers should be made part of disaster management committee/ authorities. Because today almost every part of country are well connected with mobile services, so the essential part of the communication is covered, now the thing left with us is deployment of force, will to face the situation and give relief to needful.

Apart from mobile, the traditional landlines also a very vital source of communication, mainly due to its overall bulk of business and the domestic communications capability. In my view, the organizations should consider high power protection with backup, maintenance contracts to handle the separate routing & other protective measures to ensure the prompt availability/services of the entire network.

And other than Mobile & landline network, the HAM Radio & Satellite phones also should be widely popularized so that after the disruption of all means of communication, at least HAM Radio member could send a message from the remote/ affected place to rest of the world that disaster has happened in a particular area at a particular time. The HAM are quite cheaper and very effective tool, only thing is that it needs certain skill sets. Satellite phones can also be made available to common man or the society, which can help in communicating the warning/ disaster preparedness in time.

At the advance level, GIS & Remote Sensing provide most versatile platform for decision support by furnishing multilayer geo-referenced information which includes hazard zoning (to show earthquake, landslides, floods or fire hazards), incident mapping, vulnerable zones, and resources in-hand to respond, available real time analysis via satellite etc. Now the need of the hour is to train the concerned segment/ special task force to handle the situation & to take timely actions. At the end of Government and District level, this concerned segment to be fully authorized to extract adequate information from IDRN (India Disaster Resource Network) inventory & other available resources, to take immediate actions for disaster preparedness.

Last but not the least, in emergency preparedness and warning plans, particular attention must be given to individuals who lack this capacity, whether they live independently or in groups. Typically these groups include older adults, persons with disabilities.

Max Martin, Disaster Watch, Bangalore

I would like to highlight various specific questions in the Query:

Internationally, what kinds of communication systems are in place to ensure that disaster preparedness messages and pre-disaster warnings are transmitted to vulnerable populations in a reliable and timely manner?

It is a broad area that differs from country to country. Mass media - especially television and radio play a huge role. They break the programmes or run text messages below visuals as in the case of popular TV. Besides, shipping/ aircraft radios get tailor-made disaster warnings. There are public address systems attached to offices in some of the disaster-prone areas. There are also couriers who take the message to remote areas. In India, the usual way to reach messages to villages is to run a vehicle fitted with a loudspeaker.

Religious institutions play a major role in alerting people. For instance, coastal churches in south India have a special way to ring the bell in the case of an emergency. Mosques use their loudspeakers. There are ways to disseminate mass SMS alerts in different languages.

There are also other ways like flags on the beach, special lighting patterns from light-houses, radio beacons and so on. I have been told that in the USA at the height of the cold war, there was a system through which the government could reach all household radios at any time in the case of an emergency (read nuke attack).

Community media can play an important role as it can not only disseminate warning, but also ensure action. A warning without action is meaningless. So is a warning that does not reach the last mile. Community media can solve these two problems. I always give this example of Pulicat, a string of islands and a thin strip of coast along the Bay of Bengal. Fisher folk on the shore saw the tsunami waves rolling in, and immediately evacuated the villages in boats summoned from across the backwaters. They knew they were vulnerable and what exactly to do. The casualty was minimal - 10 or so.

What role can radio and the internet play in disaster preparedness and disaster warning? Can they be integrated to form a seamless communication system?

Radio and internet should be integrated - ideally. Actually someone should work on this synergy seriously. There are initial efforts by coastal community radio initiatives. Pondicherry Multipurpose Social Service Society downloads wave height information from the website of INCOIS and disseminates it through AIR in three bulletins daily. M S Swaminathan foundation also uses weather, wave and tide information from websites for their community radio programmes. Please read my write up 'Making Waves' in the publication Miles 2 Go.

Either download 10 MB PDF from www.indiadisasters.org or use the google search option within the site www.tsunamiresponsewatch.org) for a web version. In addition, please read Sajan Venniyoor's article 'Saviour Waves' in the collection called Time and Tide - also available on the web through google and Effective Warning by Nilanjana about the challenges of reaching the message.

Are there any particular advantages – in the Indian context – to using radio and the internet for disaster messaging? Or would other Information & Communication Technologies (i.e., TV, Ham Radio, mobile telephony etc), used singly or in synergy, serve the purpose better?

Particular advantage in the Indian context is that it can bridge the digital divide. See, you can access news and views from across the world through the internet and pass it on to each hamlet through a community radio. A brilliant mix. Another possibility is that if you have a good programme that may be relevant to another community you can podcast it. Others can stream it or download and play! There are tremendous possibilities.

As for synergy with other technologies, there are countless ways to make a community radio relevant. For example, a community radio broadcast can reach fisher folk up to 20km offshore (proven by the Radio Alakal team - reported in the CR network sometime in 2006). A fisherman with a two-way radio could alert the coast and reach the community radio hub for help. Within smaller distances, even mobile phones work in the sea and the fisher folk use it to check the best market. So cell phone can also reach the station like we do in cities during traffic jams. Now the radio station can disseminate his message - an SOS, fuel request, technical snag or even warning about something he noticed - to everybody tuned to the radio. Mr Venniyoor has written about the use of community radio in disaster settings. They can work in tandem with Ham sets with a lot of efficacy.

Just an endnote, in community radio the community comes first, then the content and then the radio. Paradropping radio sets in an unprepared community may not work. Hope this helps.

Please do not hesitate to get back to me for specifics.

Anonymous

One of the principles of International Environmental Law is 'International assistance during emergencies'. Many times the communication of upcoming disasters will reach some offices of government and by the time it is communicated to people through hierarchy of bureaucracy, it would be too late.

To overcome this I feel news could be spread through international news exchange programme by requesting international agencies to report disasters to press associations like Press Trust of India (PTI) in addition to concerned departments at the same time. Press people will act too fast and certainly communicate the district/state administration even in midnight as they work 24 hours day gathering news.

Jocelyne Josiah, UNESCO, New Delhi

Disaster preparedness should be a continued process particularly in known disaster prone areas. Max Martin’s observations on radio are apt and convincing with respect to the indispensable nature of this medium and particularly community radio in this exercise. Radio, and most of all community radio needs to be fully occupied all year round disseminating messages about disaster; best practice stories, locally, nationally and around the world; contributing to public education in a consistent manner.

Communities need to be engaged using different formats, at all levels of society: games; studio discussions cum internet browsing known in community radio parlance as ‘radio browsing’, for complementary information on the worldwide level. Here we are not only concerned with sending out news and messages, but with the people in society, especially on the community levels buying into that information so that when the warning comes' in as far as is humanly possible, they respond appropriately and in unison.

Small standby transmitters and solar kits in Disaster Management offices and/or attached to radio stations are an asset in this respect, As, when all the chips are down and an area is laid bare by disaster with only the blazing sun (or the rain) for shelter, an emergency frequency, solar operated transmitter and limited radio production materials placed in a box, even a carton box in conveyances from a helicopter to a bullock cart, solar radio receivers, cell phones could go a long way in eliciting timely responses. Radio broadcasts to solar and other alternative energy radio receivers become in high demand immediately after disaster strikes. An interactive, user-friendly kit for community radio operators is also an asset at such radio stations.

These are some approaches taken in areas such as the Caribbean where hurricanes are a yearly feature and an emphasis on on-going preparedness programmes appears to have positive effects. You may wish to check some government websites such as Cuba, or Nicaragua, or Honduras or the CDERA.org, the site for the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Relief Agency in Barbados.

Kris Dev, ICT and e-Gov Consultant, Chennai

To overcome the problem of last mile communication (as was seen during tsunami) to reach citizens timely of upcoming disasters 24x7, we need to adopt, multi modal continuous streaming of any emergency situation to reach citizens thro' wireless, television, Short Message Service (SMS) and landline alerts, radio, public address system, etc. from a control room server.

"e-Administration" is an e-Platform for e-Governance and can integrate all citizens and the vertical hierarchy of Government and any communication can be streamed from a central server to reach the entire vertical hierarchy of bureaucracy and all citizens 24x7.

C. Balaji, CARE India, New Delhi

I agree with the points made by Anshu Sharma about the criticality of early warning communication and the role of community raid in this regard is significant. Personally, I have seen this work very well in Bhuj, even while the rehabilitation activities were ongoing for communicating to the people about their rights and privileges. I specially feel the role of the community radio is significant in some remote islands of Andamans and Nicobar where early warning is very challenging. The challenges further are enhanced because of restricted physical access. I think the community radio system could be used very effectively for these islands.

CARE India is exploring some of the actions/activities and thinking of initiating a feasibility study towards this.

Gitanjali Sah, UNSECO, New Delhi

Find below some useful information on Communication Strategies for Disaster Preparedness and Warning:

Information Technology and Natural Disaster Management in India By Dr. Alok Gupta, GISdevelopment.net http://www.gisdevelopment.net/aars/acrs/2000/ts8/hami0001pf. htm Article informs how Information Technology in the form of Internet, GIS, Remote Sensing, etc. can help a great deal in planning and implementation of hazards reduction.

Maharashtra Communication Network for Disaster Management By N. K.Chhibber, International Telecommunication Union Website http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/pdf/fg7/mah001.html Paper informs about a disaster management communication network in Maharashtra, on disaster management response, disaster awareness and education.

The Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network in Staffordshire, Disaster and Emergency Management on the Internet By Staffordshire Raynet http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/disaster.htm#ham Website that provides exhaustive information on Disaster and Emergency, includes a list of International Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Organizations.

Ajit Lawrence, Indiadisaster.org, Trivandrum

Here goes the reason for radio as the most effective tool for disaster preparedness. Journalists and Researchers including me have experienced that "Radio is the only medium of communication as a tool for disaster preparedness, for a community like fishermen and other traditional and socially poor communities.

My experiment of 'Radio Alakal' was one like that which proved to be most effective and cheap for the fishing community here in Southern Indian coast. It (Radio Alakal) was developed as an aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami for safe fishing and disaster-warning for the fishing community particularly at rough seasons like Monsoon (June, July and August months when the sea is very rough and unpredictable). The people invited the concept and use to listen to it for weather forecast, Tidal heights, under currents of the sea etc. Our radio clubs were the major centres (Fish landing centres) that disseminate the information for the community.

As you are aware, we do not broadcast. It is a narrowcast. Therefore, the success of the radio Alakala is dependent on creating as many radio clubs as possible. Of course to keep the community people stay with radio Alakal, it was developed to give them ample amusements like music and film songs of fast numbers of both Malayalam and Tamil.

I have researched out about 40 programmes for the around development of the fishing community. Out of the 28 states in India, 11 are coastal states, but none of the governments give any attention for this all toiling fishing community for their livelihood.

To make radio Alakal more visible and useful for the community the NGOs working with and on the fishing community need to do a lot of campaigning among the fishing community. So that the radio Alakal will become a community radio of the community and by the community without any strings attached to any NGOs or organisations out side the community.

Unlike any other medium Radio is cheapest medium that can be accessed by even the poorest people with Rs. 45 for a small portable radio.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this query!

If you have further information to share on this topic, please send it to Solution Exchange for the Disaster Management Community in India at [email protected] or Solution Exchange for the ICT for Development Community in India at [email protected] with the subject heading RE: [se-drm][se-ictd] Query: Communication Strategies for Disaster Preparedness and Warning- Examples; Experiences.. Additional Reply”

Disclaimer: In posting messages or incorporating these messages into synthesized responses, the UN accepts no responsibility for their veracity or authenticity. Members intending to use or transmit the information contained in these messages should be aware that they are relying on their own judgment.

Copyrighted under Creative Commons License “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5”. Re-users of this material must cite as their source Solution Exchange as well as the item’s recommender, if relevant, and must share any derivative work with the Solution Exchange Community.

Solution Solution Exchange is a UN initiative for development practitioners in India. For more informati information on please visit www.solutionexchange-un.net.in