Disaster area architecture: telecommunications support to disaster response and recovery

Abstract

The expanse and complexity of disaster response and recovery is staggering, requiring a wide range of resources to ensure the safety of the population and the recovery of the affected area. The Northridge Earthquake disaster response and recovery effort, to date, required $7.5 billion in disaster response and recovery funds and over 10,000 Federal emergency users deployed throughout the region. Hurricane Andrew disaster response and recovery required 1,973 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) users, 29,000 military support personnel (both US and Canada), 12,872 contractors and 9,600 volunteers. FEMA estimated the cost to exceed 2.2 billion dollars. The magnitude of these disasters in terms of government resources and lives affected demonstrates the need for fast, efficient response and recovery. Communications are vital for effective management and execution of disaster response and recovery efforts. Emergency response personnel must be able to exchange information with each other from anywhere, at any time, to successfully fulfill their missions. The National Communications System (NCS) has initiated an effort to improve communication capabilities by first identifying the full range of communication requirements within the disaster area. The NCS has interviewed disaster response managers with experience in the most recent occurrences, to learn specific communication and information system requirements are most critical. A disaster area architecture was designed to meet these requirements.