Community participation for emergency preparedness 5520
Emergency Communication
1. Emergency Communication
Term Paper: CMS-505
Emergency Communication: Best practices around the world and its relevance
and implication in Nepal.
By
Sumit Bikram Rana
First Semester
Submitted to:
Dr. Chandra L. Pandey
Lecturer
2. Emergency Communication 1
Abstract
As Nepal is a hotspot for disaster, Nepal needs a proactive approach in disaster
management. Communication is a critical part for the mission success or failure during crisis
situation. During the recent Gorkha Earthquake, it has been observed that civilians are the
first responder before the arrival of security forces. We need a coordination mechanism
between the security forces themselves and the civilian in coordinating the disaster response
more efficiently.
There are key issues of operability, interoperability and continuity of communication during
crisis. These are challenges for a developing country like Nepal, which faces various disaster
around the year for managing emergency communication. Although Nepal has drafted a
National Telecommunication Emergency plan, it has not been finalized yet, beside these we
need a mechanism to coordinate emergency communication such as SAR-IF, SOP relating to
communication.
Keywords: # Emergency# Communication# Coordination# Gorkha# Earthquake
3. Emergency Communication 2
Introduction
During Disaster communication has been identified as the most important need of the
population; a medium of communication plays an important role in communicating with the
affected population; for the population in these disaster affected areas it is important to know
where assistance and services are available. The people during crisis want to get a myriad of
information during crisis such as information about their loved ones, condition of the roads,
availability of the shelters, medical facility in the nearby areas and during earthquake, the
intensity of the quake, the epicenter, safe & open areas (Rai, 2015) damage done by the
earthquake etc. (Pokharel, 2015). `
During disaster lack of coordinated emergency communications solutions and protocols
among the responding agencies delay the response and recovery efforts (Homeland Security,
2008a). As there are many stakeholders operating in the Response phase of the crisis there
needs to be a coordination mechanism. This system was lacking in the Gorkha1
earthquake in
Nepal. Not only in Nepal, but there has been cases abroad where there was lack of
coordination among agencies that have resulted in to huge losses, one of the example is
Hurricane Katrina2
.
Problems seen in the Gorkha earthquake was the lack of communication and coordination
among different agencies and the government itself (Rai, 2015; Kathmandu Post, Disaster
mgmt, 2016). Resources in terms of manpower, helicopters, logistical support etc. are very
1
Earthquake measuring 7.8 magnitude struck Nepal, the epicenter was in Gorkha District (north-west) of
Kathmandu and south of the China border
2
“Hurricane Katrina was the most damaging natural disaster in U.S. history. The storm crippled thirty-eight
911-call centers, disrupting local emergency services, and knocked out more than 3 million customer phone
lines in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Broadcast communications were likewise severely affected, as 50
percent of area radio stations and 44 percent of area television stations went off the air.” White House Report,
The Federal Response to Katrina: Lessons Learned, February 2006.
4. Emergency Communication 3
finite with the security forces of Nepal. If it is not coordinated properly than the efficiency of
these resources will go down. As Nepal lacked these resources foreign assistance were sent to
Nepal for supporting in the disaster response phase.
As there is lack of coordination among the different stakeholders during disaster in Nepal,
and a proper mechanism such as emergency communication plan to coordinate emergency
communication. This research paper will explore into the coordination mechanism of
emergency communication practices around the world, to improve the existing mechanism of
Nepal.. The paper will be limited to the Response phase of the Disaster management process
only.
Literature Review:
For country like Nepal it is very important to focus on managing disasters and coordinating
disaster response as “Nepal is one of the world's disaster-prone countries. Geophysical and
socio-economic conditions in the country have made her vulnerable to various types of
natural disasters-flooding, landslides, fire, earthquakes, gales, hailstorms, lightning, the
bursting of glacier lakes, drought, epidemics, avalanches, and so on.” (Chhetri, 2001)
Beside the lack of coordination among different agencies to manage disaster and no clear-cut
job description of those agencies, resource limitation, the lack of technical manpower, the
lack of public awareness, very remote, rural and difficult geo-physical situation of the
country, nonexistence and lack of modern technology and so on are other factors and the
other major hurdles to cope with the natural disasters in Nepal (Chhetri, 2001). These
problems were seen in the Gorkha Earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015, 25th
April. There was a
lack of coordination among different agencies and stakeholders during disaster. Due to the
negligence and lack of coordination by the government the response could not be carried out
5. Emergency Communication 4
as effectively as it could have been done. There was Duplication3
of effort in some areas and
some didn’t receive any help. More lives could have been saved if there was proper
coordination.
Even the relief aid being distributed experienced the same problem. Some area received
excess and unnecessary aids where as some didn’t receive any for the first few weeks. In
addition, the people who were distributing and wanted to distribute aid didn’t have any
proper information on what kind of relief the people needed and where it was needed. There
was a serious lapse of coordination and communication gap between the agencies and
decision makers (Giri, 2015; Purushotham, 2015; Bhandari, 2015). To facilitate the
coordination among these agencies we need a coordination mechanism to interconnect all
these agencies and make them function properly and make a synergy by utilizing the
resources to its fullest and make them function properly.
Earthquake related disaster can damage the vital communication infrastructures such as base
stations, communication towers and fiber optics cable, resulting into a breakdown of
communication system, Along with that power failure and electricity crisis could create
problem in replenishing the batteries or operating the communication devices (Shahi, 2014).
There is need of establishing communication mediums which can be operated even when all
system fails.
There are around 5000 telephone towers installed across Nepal and almost all of them have
been installed haphazardly and are unsafe; In the National Emergency communication Plan it
has been stated to work out the vulnerability assessment of these locations where it has been
installed. Ncell a leading telecom provider has worked in making earthquake resilient
3
Gongabu a French team was already conducting its rescue operation but a Turkish medical team also arrived
there. The French declined to take help from the Turkish team as they were self-sufficient and also didn’t want
to share the credit.
6. Emergency Communication 5
infrastructures and to install dedicated backup power for these towers to operate and contact
with other tower even when the electricity fails during disaster (Shahi, 2014).
One of the important component of coordination is communication. To establish
communication we need a medium. There are different medium of communication such as
Satellite phone; VHF / UHF radio or HAM; Internet access; Cellular phones. Every medium
has its own pros and cons but among them VHF/UHF radios are fail safe mechanisms4
. When
all other medium fails the last resort of communication is VHF/UHF radios.
During emergency VHF/UHF radio have played an important role in crisis situation. As
civilians have access to VHF/UHF radio as HAM5
/Amateur radio. They prove useful in
coordinating crisis situations involving civilians. Hurricane Katrina caused a mass
devastation in Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. Many of the conventional emergency
network went down. Conventional emergency network have become hampered and nearly
unusable in many incidences including 9/11 attack, Tsunami in the Indian ocean, 2008
Sichuan earthquake, Hud Hud in India and 2010 Haiti earthquake. In all of these HAM radio
provided an alternative communication service to the public even when there was no power
or phone service.
Realizing their potentials many Governments have installed civil and security forces
coordination for communication using amateur radio. Examples of this is MARS (Military
Auxiliary Radio System) a program sponsored by United States Department of Defense,
incorporating United States Army, Navy, and Air Force and including licensed amateur radio
operators as a civilian auxiliary in supporting the military with communications on a local,
national, and international basis as an addition to normal communications. MARS has a long
4
VHF/UHF devices does not relies on terrestrial facilities (Mobile towers) which means they can operate with
the VHF/UHF hand sets and antennas to communicate using radio technologies. This means their systems are
operating and functioning even when mobile phones (commercial systems) fails, so this is crucial for rescue and
coordination effort (Tarantino, 2014).
5
HAM: Handheld Amateur Radio
7. Emergency Communication 6
history of providing worldwide auxiliary communication during emergency situation (Straw,
2006). Canada has a counterpart program to this called CFARS (Canadian Forces Affiliate
Radio System).
To communicate we use mobile or GSM phones or use internet. During disasters these
systems are not able to function as during normal times. Mobile Network bandwidth is
sufficient 99% of normal times; however, during disasters the centralized6 nature of the
network means that whole geographic regions can be blocked out by increased call volume;
Users are prevented from making voice calls. Most times SMS pass through as it takes up far
less bandwidth although it is possible to build redundancies into mobile phone infrastructure
for use during the crises, but economic feasibility needs to be considered. (Ungerleider,
2013). An example is the recent Gorkha earthquake where text messages worked, but not the
voice calls. Even though communications medium were not affected during the Gorkha
Earthquake, the same thing could not be said in the next disaster (Republica, NET plan,
2015).
Understanding the Shortcoming of communication faced during Hurricane Katrina and 9/11
attack, In United States of America, Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of
Emergency Communications7
(OEC) were directed by congress to make the first “National
Emergency Communications Plan” (NECP); It focuses on the emergency communications
requirements of response personnel in every field, at every level of government, and for the
private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGO) (Homeland Security, 2008a).
6
In GSM (Global System for Mobile)and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network
components such as PCU or RNC are centralized (Sauter)
7
“Emergency communications is defined as the ability of emergency responders to exchange information via
data, voice, and video as authorized, to complete their missions. Emergency response agencies at all levels of
government must have interoperable and seamless communications to manage emergency response, establish
command and control, maintain situational awareness, and function under a common operating picture, for a
broad scale of incidents.” (Homeland Security, 2008b)
8. Emergency Communication 7
U.S. DHS developed NECP to address a lack of interoperability among the first
responders. As Communications interoperability is crucial for law enforcement, firefighting,
rescue and emergency medical personnel to coordinate an efficient disaster response and
access data at the scene of an emergency.
As per the National Emergency communication Plan (2008) of United States, there are three
basic components of the emergency communication; Operability, Interoperability and
Continuity of Communications. Operability is establish and sustaining communication to
continue the mission operations by the emergency responders. Interoperability is the ability to
communicate among jurisdictions, disciplines, and levels of government, using numerous
frequency bands, as per need and as authorized by the emergency responders. System
operability is essential for system interoperability. Continuity of Communications is
maintaining communications even when the primary infrastructure of communication is
disrupted by the emergency response agencies.
One of the partners for homeland security to provide emergency communication is ECPC,
stands for Emergency Communications Preparedness Center, this is an interdepartmental
organization, and this evaluates and coordinates Federal emergency communications
operability and interoperability assurance efforts. ECPC is the focal point for interagency
communication and helps to avoid duplication of activities within federal government
(Homeland Security, 2008a).
A research done in Canada by National Working Group on Search and Rescue Radio
Communications which included all the SAR (Search and Rescue) organization, all of them
proposed for a creation of a single interagency frequency. After this a Search and Rescue
Interagency Frequency (SAR-IF) was created, it is a national radio communications channel
149.080 MHz. During rescue air, marine, and ground resources are working together, SAR-IF
9. Emergency Communication 8
provides an essential communications link among first responders, enhancing operational
safety and effectiveness. Different agencies can use their designated frequency to coordinate
among themselves but while coordinating with other agencies they use SAR-IF channel. To
make it available to diverse agencies the channel is not encrypted (The Search and Rescue).
For coordinating with different agencies, Federal Partnership for Interoperable
Communications (FPIC) is the coordinating body. Its involvement includes program
managers Information Technology, Land Mobile Radio specialists, wireless systems
manager, radio communications managers and telecommunications engineers. Local
emergency providers are advisory (Homeland Security, 2008b).
In India every state is responsible for its disaster management, the central government only
supports the state. Communication link between the national and the state Emergency
Operations Centre (EOCs) during emergency/crisis are currently based on Department of
Telecommunication (DOT) network. As they have analyzed and found communication is the
first fatality during calamity/hazard and it is one of the bottlenecks during crisis management.
Hence Indian government decided to put in place multi-mode and multi-channel
communication systems so that enough redundancy is available. Also the introduction of
POLNET8
has been decided to be used during disaster. To safe guard communication
devices, Detail evaluation and retrofitting of lifeline buildings program has been imitated
(hospitals, schools, water and power supply units, telecommunication buildings,
airports/airport control towers railway stations, bus stands and important administrative
buildings) (Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs, 2004).
8
Police Communication Network (POLNET) is a Country Wide Network for Police. It is a satellite based
network, that provides voice, video, data and message communication between District Head Quarters, State
Head Quarters, National Head Quarters, Central Armed Police Forces (CPMFs), Ministry Of Home Affairs
(MHA) offices and Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW) offices.
10. Emergency Communication 9
MHA of India is working for setting-up reliable information and communication network
including both terrestrial and satellite-based communication technologies with redundancies
to create a network for emergency communications (ICT for Disaster). Nepal has also
planned to retrofit these vital mobile phone towers but it has not been done yet (Shahi, 2014).
Similar to that Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has also drafted an Emergency
Telecommunication Plan (NETP). This provides a framework for timely coordination and
consistent approach to ensure smooth communication among security forces, designated
elements of government, humanitarian organizations, NTA, operators and other relevant
stakeholders responding to a disaster. Despite the urgency, NECP has not been implemented
by the government (Republica, NET plan, 2015). Even though Nepal is member of
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which states a country to have a fixed
emergency spectrum in 1700 MHz and ultra-high frequency (UHF) in 380 MHz band
(Himalayan Times, Govt yet to, 2015).
From the research done we can see that Nepal lacks an emergency communication plan,
although the government is aware about it, Government of Nepal has not taken steps.
Although after the Gorkha earthquake, government is taking some steps, Such as finally
introducing a national emergency communication plan. NECP is not a silver bullet, for
solving the communication gap. But at least it will give us a framework to operate. Beside
these government should be serious on making a robust emergency communication system
that will not fail during emergency. In these plan it can include ideas such as operability,
interoperability and continuity of communication during crisis. Use of concept such as
MARS can further help in interoperability among security forces and civilians during
disasters. Further solution has been discussed in the Findings section.
11. Emergency Communication 10
Methodology:
This research will be a qualitative approach grounded paper. Different literature found in
library and online will be used for the research. Only secondary data will be used no primary
data will be collected. In Nepal a lot of study has not been conducted about coordination gap
mechanism and especially communication gap, the secondary material will be done by
research done abroad. Due to time limitation and funding limitation the research will be done
using only the secondary sources.
Findings:
Although it was expected that during the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 in Nepal, would destroy
mobile phones (GSM/CDMA) and earthquakes victim would not have any means to
communicate, this proved wrong (Shrestha, 2015). The majority of the mobile towers did not
fall down due to earthquake, Although due to over congestion of telephone calls during the
major Quake and major aftershock the telephones did not work.
There are seismic gap9
on the western part of Nepal, In future a big earthquake measuring
M=8 earthquake can come any time (Paudyal & Panthi, 2010), during those period we cannot
say the same scenario will be the same, and important infrastructure will be standing tall.
Beside the earthquake we have many other disaster such as flood, landslide, Glacier lake
Outburst (GLOF) etc. These disasters takes life and damages property. We need a
communication plan covering all these situations.
One of the first step in doing so will be introduction of NECP which will cover many
important detail to take during emergency. Beside this we also need to study the buildings
9
Seismic gaps: are areas that have stored energy which have not be released and are likely to produce
larger earthquakes in the future; these gaps lie in the active fault zone or with in its vicinity. These
areas have stored energy due to tectonic strains (Keller, 2012).
12. Emergency Communication 11
and area where important equipment of our modern telecommunication are kept. Building or
area should be studied to identify the hazards in those area, and retrofit the building if they
cannot be moved to somewhere better. While Building a redundancy system for our GSM
mobile phone, economic feasibility must be considered.
As VHF/UHF radio are fail safe devices, these are last resort when all other communication
devices fail. As community are the first responder which was witnessed in the last Gorkha
earthquake, Addition of civilian will be immensely fruitful to the disaster response. As part of
Disaster resilient community, communication is also part of it. Every community if they can
communicate and relay their situation at the current moment of time, future human losses can
be damaged and also as an early warning system. Model such as MARS and CFARS would
help to coordinate activities between civilians and the security forces. It would give a new
dimension to the civil military coordination.
Although Nepal being part of the ITU, Nepal has not provided an emergency frequency. An
emergency frequency must be introduced. For interoperability of VHF/UHF among different
components of the state and the civilians during SAR operations and other situations, we
need a designated emergency frequency such as used by Canadian. SAR-IF is a must for
Nepal as during disaster it plays a vital role in communication and interoperability among
different agencies.
Standard operating procedure (SOP) among agencies in handling crisis must be developed.
Use of interoperable emergency communications terminology, solutions, and Standardized
and uniform reporting format must be developed (Homeland Security, 2008a). SOP reporting
format is missing in Nepalese crisis management team.
Identifying safe places to install mobile phones tower in future and retrofitting these
infrastructures are already located must be done to avoid communication breakdown during
crisis scenario such as the last Gorkha earthquake of 2015.
13. Emergency Communication 12
Conclusion
Communication is a backbone of any emergency operation during crisis situation, as different
stakeholder’s coordination will make the crisis response more efficient. If we neglect the
communication component in crisis it will result into a huge blunder. As logistical efficiency
is very important for country like Nepal where the resources are very scarce. Communication
will help into better coordination of Human, Logistical support during crisis. Introduction of
National emergency communication plan which will include emergency frequency, SOP
among stakeholders, building redundancy system for communication and VHF/UHF
coordination etc. will help in operability, interoperability and continuity of communication
during a crisis situation.
14. Emergency Communication 13
References
Bhandari, T. S. (2015, August 21). Spending aid. Kathmandu Post. Retrieved from
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-08-20/spending-aid.html
Chhetri, M. B. (2001). A Practitioner's View of Disaster Management in Nepal: Organisation,
System, Problems and Prospects. Palgrave Macmillan Journals, 3(4), 63-72.
Giri, A. (2015, May 09). ‘Strict’ one-window policy will ensure accountability: Govt.
Kathmandu Post. Retrieved from
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-05-08/strict-one-
window-policy-will-ensure-accountability-govt.html
Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs. (2004). DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN
INDIA. National Disaster Management Division.
Himalayan Times, Govt yet to. (2015, June 17). Govt yet to fix emergency communication
frequency. Himalayan Times. Retrieved from
http://thehimalayantimes.com/business/govt-yet-to-fix-emergency-communication-
frequency/
Homeland Security. (2008a). National Emergency Communications Plan.
Homeland Security. (2008b). National Emergency Communications Plan. 2.
ICT for Disaster. (n.d.). ICT for Disaster Risk Reduction: The Indian Experince . Ministry of
Home Affarirs.
Kathmandu Post, Disaster mgmt. (2016, August 2). Disaster mgmt policy lacking: Home
Ministry. Kathmandu Post. Retrieved from
http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-02-08/disaster-mgmt-policy-lacking-
home-ministry.html
15. Emergency Communication 14
Keller, E. A. (2012). Introduction to Environmental Geology. Pearson.
Paudyal, H., & Panthi, A. (2010). Seismic Vulnerability in the Himalayan Region. The
Himalayan Physics, Vol.1, No.1, 14-17.
Pokharel, S. (2015, November 25). Communication with disaster affected. The Himalayan
Times. Retrieved from https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/communication-with-
disaster-affected/
Purushothaman, C. (2015, May 28). Nepal: A dire need to coordinate aid. South Asia
Monitor. Retrieved from
http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=emerging&nid=12030
Quintanilla, J. (2013, april 3). Disaster communications: covering the 'last mile'. theguardian.
Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2013/apr/03/disaster-communications-ict-internews
Rai, O. A. (2015, April 30). Everyone their own way. Nepali Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/04/30/everyone-their-own-way/
Republica, NET plan. (2015, June 6). National Emergency Telecommunication Plan to be
finalized within few weeks. Republica. Retrieved from
http://www.myrepublica.com/economy/story/22198/national-emergency-
telecommunication-plan-to-be-finalized-within-few-weeks.html
Sauter, M. (n.d.). From GSM to LTE: An Introduction to Mobile Networks and Mobile
Broadban. Wiley.
Shahi, P. (2014, February 5). Call for sturdy telecom infrastructure. Kathmandu Post.
Retrieved from http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2014-02-05/call-for-sturdy-
telecom-infrastructure.html
16. Emergency Communication 15
Shrestha, S. (2015, August 21). The subscriber cannot be reached. Nepali Times. Retrieved
from http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connectivity-problem-post-quake,2525
Straw, R. (2006). he ARRL handbook for radio communications (38 ed.). CT: Newington.
Tarantino, K. (2014, April 21). Ham radio: An ‘old’ technology is a lifesaver in the
emergency field. Georgia Health News. Retrieved from
http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2014/04/ham-radio-old-technology-lifesaver-
emergency-field/
The Search and Rescue. (n.d.). The Search and Rescue Interagency Frequency (SAR-IF)
149.080 MHz. Retrieved from www.nss.gc.ca
Ungerleider, N. (2013, April 17). Fast Company. Retrieved from Why Your Phone Doesn't
Work During Disasters—And How To Fix It:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3008458/tech-forecast/why-your-phone-doesnt-work-
during-disasters-and-how-fix-it