Safety

Keeping cell phones going during a disaster

Emergency Management Alert, May 29, 2007

Cell phones have received their fair share of criticism over the years. Legislators are beginning to crack down on their use by vehicle operators in many states while the rest of us continue to be irritated by those cell phone users who gab obnoxiously in restaurants, buses, and in the work place.

 

But in a disaster cell phones have proved to be a useful, if not life-saving, tool for the general public and emergency responders alike because they allow critical communication between the scene of a disaster and emergency services such as police, fire, and healthcare personnel. So what happens when a disaster also knocks out critical cell phone infrastructure?

 

That is a question that Kansas emergency managers are trying to answer after recent disasters-a tornado and an ice-storm-crippled some of the region's cell phone network, according to the Associated Press. Redundancy may be the answer, said some officials, who have been discussing ways to implement a back-up cell phone network that could be activated in emergency situations.

 

Read the article here.

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